Interstellar Academy
by MadameLovely
Summary: Sequal to my series "Sunlight", which introduces how my OC, Nova, joins Jim on his epic journey, we now follow their adventures into the Interstellar Academy. Just when they believe their adventures are over, things take a turning point. Relationships are tested, people return to their lives, and the school is turned upside down. COMPLETE! *teartear*
1. Chapter 1

Interstellar Academy

01: First Day

Jim attempted, and failed, to stuff the last remnants of his "necessities" into his suitcase. His mother snuck up behind him and shoved him aside playfully. "You can't even pack your own suitcase, and you're training to lead a ship? May there be mercy on that crew."

"Mom, no, look. I got this, really. I won't be alone."

"I'm well aware if that, James P. Hawkins," his mother scolded, still being playful. This caused Jim's face to turn a bright red.

Jim hadn't seen much of Nova since they arrived back at the Space Port. In fact, other than the party held to celebrate the Benbow Inn's renewal, they hadn't spoken to each other period. She'd found a few of her people had stayed at the inn, and she took the free ride home.

_"It's not like we'll never see each other," she'd promised, grabbing hold of his hand. Her smile was particularly bright that night, despite the fact her hair and clothes were a mucky mess; she'd been helping them around the inn all day._

_ "I-I know. But still. Three months is a long time." He couldn't bring himself to look at her. "And, uh, I don't… I don't know, you know, where WE stand…"_

_ There was a long silence, and not able to stand not know what could be going through her head, he glanced over at her. She was wiping her eyes._

_ "Hey, look, that came out wrong. I didn't mean-"_

_ "N-no, I understand. I don't either, Jim, honestly. A-and I think three months would make that easier. On the both of us. When we see each other again, and it's obvious we missed each other A LOT then that should confirm everything."_

And the next day she was gone. No hug. Not even a good-bye. She was just gone, with her people.

The first couple of weeks he moped around, but after some encouraging words from his mother- and uncharacteristically threatening words from B.E.N., the inn cook and local robot- he'd gotten out of his slump.

Now a fresh start was in store for him. He was going to be a freshman at the Interstellar Academy, a cadet school. He was going to meet up with Nova and hopefully confirm his feelings for her. He was going to graduate in three years a full-time spacer.

He couldn't wait.

They went to the Space Port, where the Academy's ship had docked. Jim was hauling his mother along, too excited to wait any longer. He adorned a pair of baggy jeans, held up by a red belt and a black t-shirt, a dark grey jacket tied around his waist, lest it get cold during the night.

"Jim, I may look young, but I'm so much older than you believe!" she said, urging him to slow down.

Jim halted in his place to glare at his mother. "You're not old, mom. Stop it."

His mother laughed, linking arms with her son. B.E.N. was right behind them, hauling all three of Jim's suitcases with ease. He placed them with some crewman, but not until it was confirmed it was the right ship. Even then, Jim, his mother and the crew had to fight with the robot to convince him he was putting the luggage into good hands.

"I can't help it, Jim," the robot said, beginning his dramatic sobbing. "I just, I'm gonna miss ya!"

Jim placed an annoyed yet sympathetic hand on B.E.N.'s back, lulling him to quiet down. "Hey, I'll be back for holidays and other special occasions."

"BUT IT WON'T BE THE SAME-"

Sarah placed a hand on B.E.N.'s mouth, shutting him up completely.

"I'm done," he muttered between her fingers.

"Glad to hear it!" Sarah laughed, then faced her son seriously. "Remember why you're going: to become a great spacer. And even though you've had pirate adventures in the past, and have shown you're much more disciplined than before, don't forget you're still a student. And also don't forget-" She paused, becoming choked up. "I love you, Jim."

Jim smiled softly at his mother, kissing her cheek and hugging her tightly. Then he leaned back to wipe her eyes. "Hey, mom. It's OK. I'll be OK, I promise." One final wave and he boarded the ship, looking around at the cadets.

He felt less self-conscious, noticing that he was more in the middle when it came to age; some obviously new students, some more experienced students. His eyes scanned for viciously for a familiar head of black hair.

When he saw a waist-long black braid leading up to a set of pointy ears, he knew he found his target. She wore the familiar, casual camo green skirt that reached mid-thigh, lime green long sleeved off the shoulder shirt, and brown under-tank top she usually wore to make herself comfortable. Her boots were the dirtier, but still the usual black ones she wore.

He made his way slowly to her, his heart racing. What if he looked too different? During the summer, he'd grown his hair to fit into a short ponytail that he tied just at the nape of his neck, and he did in fact look older, if only by a little bit. What if she only enjoyed the boy Jim? What if this new Jim wasn't for her?

And worst still, what if she found someone else?

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she spun around, large green eyes at first frightened. Then they went from scared to excited in a heartbeat.

"OH, JIM!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and flung herself onto him, catching him off guard. He composed himself and spun her around, setting her down and putting her arms-length from him to really look at her. She'd also grown up in the three months they hadn't seen each other.

A LOT.

"You- uh, you look… I mean-"

"So do you!" She interrupted, giggling at his stuttering. "Jim, I've missed you so much!" She hugged him again, this time more tenderly, resting her chin on his shoulder- barely. He'd grown quite a bit since they'd last seen each other. "I'm so happy to see your face."

"I feel the same," he said, hoping she'd catch the double meaning in his words. He detached himself from her, making her do the same. "But, hey, we gotta catch up- after cabin meeting."

"Sounds perfect," she said softly, waving and turning away from him and heading toward the girls' bunking area.

He watched her leave, dazed, until someone smacked him back into reality.

Literally.

"HEY!" Jim hollered, whipping his head around.

Two people- if you could call them that- stood behind him. One of them was a taller gentleman, green skin and slightly larger proportioned head than most do compared to their bodies. His eyes were black, but even proportioned with the rest of his face. His body was lean, but not exactly strong. And beside him stood a silver plated, built-lean robot with shining yellow eyes. The green fellow wore black pants and red tank top, while his companion simply wore jeans.

"Girlfriend?" asked the green one.

Jim was confused and a little irked; why would they care whether Nova was his girlfriend?

"Ah. No. Not exactly." He raised an eyebrow at them. "But hello?"

"Oh! How rude of us!" exclaimed the robot. "I'm Stav. Short for Star Navigator. This is Ruse, fresh cadet and also my best friend. And you are?"

"Uh, Jim." Suspicious, as was his custom, he maneuvered past Stav and Ruse toward the boys' bunking quarters. "Were you… watching us?" It's not like he was already insecure with himself, now he had spectators.

"Well, we noticed you were new, and were discussing who would be our third bunk mate would be-" began Ruse.

Then Stav finished, "but then we saw you were in an… intimate moment and didn't want to disturb."

"Well, thanks, I guess." He back tracked to their previous statement. "Third bunking mate?"

"Yeah. There are seven rooms, each with a single bed and 2 bunk bed," said Ruse.

"And it was either you, or that guy." Stav pointed to a gelatinous creature who seemed to smell so foul no one went near him.

"I see your point." Jim nodded at them. "I'm game to be your third bunkmate. On two conditions."

Ruse and Stav listened intently.

"First off, I get the single bed."

"As was expected; we're already set up in the bunk bed," informed Stav.

"And secondly, do you guys mind pets?"

And with that, Morph, Jim's jelly-like pink creature, swam out of Jim's pocket where he was hiding and out into the open, only for Jim to cup him in his hands. "MORPH NOT NOW."

At first, Stav and Ruse said nothing, which made Jim believe he'd be bunking with Jellyman. However, they both smiled brightly first at each other, than him.

Simultaneously: "AWESOME."


	2. Chapter 2

Interstellar Academy

02: Parole

The ship docked at the Academy a week later, faster, apparently, than the crew expected it to. People met the crewmen on the dock, collecting their belongings and meeting up with old friends (if you'd been here awhile) or forming a circle with new friends made on the ship. Nova and Jim stood next to each other, Stav and Ruse behind them, along with Charlotte, Ruse's sister who coincidentally became friends with Nova.

Charlotte came up behind Nova and hugged her tightly. "Don't look so tense, Nova! It's going to be OK, just watch!"

Nova bit her lip, nervous, but nodded at the girl's enthusiasm.

Jim pressed a hand to her back. "Were you worried?" They hadn't seen each other the entire week, since girls and boys were forced to do chores on either end of the ship, and it kept them separated.

"A little bit. But I'll tell you about it later."

Nova was a sunmaid. This alone put her in danger. They were mythical, to everyone's belief, and if anyone had caught sight of one- in Jim's case, rescued one and had one in their midst- they would go down in history. In the past, Nova's panicked tendency to protect the ones she loved made her turn into her original form. She'd saved Jim a couple times from fatality after transforming.

Jim would keep her safe though; his feelings for her were too strong to allow others to grab hold of her. Though his line of thinking was selfish, there was a sense of rationality as well.

They separated again, to the dismay of the young man and woman, but they promised to meet up for the freshman bonfire.

Unpacking and going through the motions of meeting new roommates was difficult, but they both managed. Thankfully, freshman were allowed to choose their first year roommates. Nova and Charlotte roomed with a third member, Helena. She was a sweet creature, pink, shiny skin with bright red eyes.

Ruse had taken an interest in her.

After the sunset, Jim, Nova and their new friends formed a group on one side of the bonfire, which seemed twice as tall as it safely should be.

"Alright, we'd like to try an exercise," said one of the dorm advisors. They scanned over the crowd, finally choosing two random members.

One of them was Nova. At first, she was apprehensive, trying to pull herself away. But with some verbal- and physical- pushing, Nova was in the middle of the crowd. One of the male dorm advisors pulled out an extremely attractive male.

His hair was silver, swept to one side, his skin lean and tanned. His eyes were almost golden, and staring at Nova as if staring directly into her soul. The girl tripped back, as if trying to escape his gaze. She ended up conjuring up laughter from her peers.

All except Jim, of course.

"Now, what we're doing here is simple. Take each other's hands."

Nova didn't seem too comfortable with this idea, and the boy could tell by her body language. He extended his arm to her, his smile gentle.

"Trust me."

Hesitant, she did just that, placing her hand gently in his.

"Move closer together. As if you were star-crossed lovers."

Nova gave a daring glance at Jim, which she instantly regretted. The boy was holding it in, but she knew him well enough to know he was fuming inside.

The peanut gallery gave a round of "ooh's", causing pale cheeks to turn bright red.

"Ready?" said the female dorm advisor. When they nodded at her, she gave a signal, and the fire suddenly danced wildly toward them.

"WHAT?" Nova started to move away, but the boy kept her close. "Are you insane? Let me go, we have to move!"

"No, just watch." Keeping a hard hold on Nova's waist with one hand and her hand with the other, he gestured with his knuckles at the flames.

"It's a trust exercise," he said gently to her, leaning in close to her ear to whisper it. "Trust in me."

Nova looked him straight in his eyes- big mistake- and nodded solemnly, like she was caught in a trance.

The flames danced around them for a few more seconds before dying down.

"I think we found this year's freshman "best couple". Am I right?" The crowd whooped and hollered.

First chance she had, Nova tore herself from the boy and ran back to her friends, unable to make eye contact with Jim. A few others were picked to do the exercise, and Nova at first didn't understand the meaning of it. Then it made sense: when you're in a crew, there's a large chance that you're thrown into a group with people you don't know. You have to learn to trust in those people, or you'll have one rocky voyage.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" The boy Nova was coupled with snuck up behind them, to everyone's surprise.

Though it was evident Jim was less surprised and more annoyed.

"Oh, it sure is," purred Charlotte, winking at Nova. The sunmaid shook her head furiously, not wanting any attention on herself.

Too late.

"So, after the bonfire, do you want to head to the beach? There's an after party, if you guys wanna go?" His invitation sounded open, but those around them could tell he was mainly talking to Nova.

Embarrassed, Nova began stuttering, then collected herself. "I-I can't. My friends might be open to it. I'm just, er, I gotta contact my home. I promised to when I got here, and completely forgot." The girl shrugged. "Too bad."

"Indeed." He bowed to her. "Oh, my name is Roger. I hope I didn't come across as forward."

"Er…" Nova seemed only capable of forming unintelligible sentences.

"Jim," Jim spoke up finally for her. "And she's Nova. And they're…" He jutted his thumb at the gang behind him.

After brief introductions and the large group of freshman dispersed into smaller groups- some heading toward the beach- Charlotte came up to Nova and Jim in the middle of their conversation- or more like argument- and said, "We should tooootally go to that party!" The alien's big black eyes shone like the stars at the thought.

How could Nova refuse those eyes?

"I… I don't want to go without Jim." Nova looked up hopingly at her friend. "I know you don't like that sort of thing, but I would like nothing more than to go with you."

Something in the way she spoke to him, like something lining her words, made him smile secretly, like only he could truly read her words. Finally, he said, "Sure."

"GOODY! I'll tell the others!" And off Charlotte ran off.

"Charlie is so sweet," Nova said softly. "And thank you. I couldn't imagine going to some party without you there." She thought about her words, tried to back track.

He grabbed her gently by the chin and forced her to look him in his blue eyes. They stayed locked like that for some time before he said, "You talk too much."

"Yeah, well, if I'm not using my mouth to talk to you, I want to use it to-" She halted in her words, thinking carefully about her sentence. She shook his hand off her chin and looked down at her feet, chagrin. "Sorry."

"I'm not. I've been waiting three months to hear you say something like that."

She looked up at him hopefully, but before she could respond, Roger came up and pulled her to him, dragging her down toward the beach.

"Uh, wait! My friend!" She ripped her wrist from Roger's grasp and reached back, wanting to hold Jim's hand instead. Jim gladly obliged, squeezing her small hand tightly in his own.

"Ah, so he's that kind of friend," Roger said, his golden eyes growing dark. He had evil intentions, anyone could see that. "That won't last forever, you know."

And he walked away.

"Let's go to the less crowded part of the beach, shall we?" Jim said, gently tugging her alone the shore in the snow white sand toward an area where almost no one inhabited- and those who did were kind of occupied with certain business of their own.

"J-Jim. I know that we, uh, we are together, I guess, but I'm not ready for…for anything yet." Nova tried to sound as determined and firm as possible, but nothing worked.

She wanted to do more than simply hold hands, but she couldn't bring herself to do it just quite.

"That's fine. I'm OK with this." He stood still next to her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Because I was waiting for this, you know? Just you."

"Hey, love birds!" Charlotte and Ruse came to interrupt their moment. "We know you two are having a moment, but we kinda have a problem!"

Charlotte pointed up the beach, where flashlights were frantically streaming over the beach.

"This is an unauthorized party, isn't it?" Jim sighed. "Great."

"Parole?" Nova said, eyebrows furrowing, but she tried to be playful by shoving him lightly.

He smiled wanly at her, then began walking away, the others following. "Well, I can't afford to stay much longer, lest I get arrested. So let's go on back to our dorms."

They managed to sneak away from the FED's and were now safely back at their campus. Jim walked Nova to her dorm, not sure how to part, and definitely not wanting to.

"Jim?" Nova said, bending down to look at his face; he was holding his head down uncharacteristically low.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Jim finally looked up, his eyes trying to avoid her gaze.

"Did I do something?" Nova looked worried, which made Jim feel guilty.

"No. I'm doing something wrong." And with that, he bent down quickly to peck her lips before parting from her, waving and rushing away.

The jolt that boy sent through her was honestly out of this world.


	3. Chapter 3

Interstellar Academy

03: Halfway

The first half of their first semester went by pretty quickly. Nova focused more on academics and Jim more on technology, so they didn't see much of each other. Midterms had come and gone, people had come and gone- thankfully their group stayed in tact- and Nova's sixteenth birthday was coming up.

Jim was unsure what to do for his girlfriend- he was still trying to get over the shock of having a girlfriend, not to mention that she's a beautiful, legendary sunmaid.

Nova had trusted their friends enough to trust them with that information. They were shocked- and unbelieving at first- but had become accustomed to the idea, and were quite excited about it. Charlotte and Ruse had so many questions to ask, which at first made the sunmaid uncomfortable, but she'd warmed up to them and began answering them enthusiastically.

Jim also took this as an opportunity to really get to know his girlfriend.

Still, he had no ideas on what to get her.

Morph usually stayed at home, not because Jim forced him to, but because he preferred the alone time. Whenever the boys were in their room, they were all loud and obnoxious, blasting music and video games, arguing over their courses on who was right and who was right and who was smart and who was dumb. Morph liked the idea of no noise.

Now they were on a week long fall break, and the team thought it would be a waste to leave and come right back- it took a week to get home anyway.

"If I had my map," Jim muttered to her one day, the sun blazing down on them. They protected them under some foliage.

Nova lay her head on Jim's shoulder. "I'm glad you don't have that map. You'd be out treasure hunting all the time; I'd never see you…" She bit her lip, embarrassed by her selfishness.

"Oh, BLECH. Come on, there are PEOPLE," Helena complained, rolling her fiery eyes, flipping her platinum blond hair from her shoulders.

"S-Sorry," Nova said, jolting upward.

"Stop," Jim said. His voice sounded serious, but his expression showed he was anything but.

"I'm goin' swimmin'," said Stav.

The group stared at him curiously.

"I was built to withstand water; don't worry, I've been doing it for years."

"It's true. He was even swim champion two years running," Ruse chipped in, standing up to join his friend. Charlotte and Helena stood up too.

"Yes, let's leave the love birds alone. Maybe Jim can push some sixteenth b-day ideas out of this girl." Charlotte winked at Nova, who blushed in response, before running into the water.

When they were officially alone, no one paying attention to them, Jim grabbed hold of Nova's cheek and turned her to face him. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, at first softly, then more ferociously. It didn't last long; Nova pulled away to get air.

He chuckled, pressing his forehead against hers. "Sorry. I forget about that whole 'breathing' thing when I'm with you."

She nodded in agreement, unable to speak.

"But, honestly, what do you wanna do for your birthday?"

"Be alone," she blurted, swallowing air and keeping her gaze low. "Really, truly alone. With you." She sighed then, laying against the towel he'd brought. "I love our friends, but they're…."

"Crowdy? Pushy? Annoying?" Jim finished for her. She pressed a hand to his lips playfully.

"Don't be mean, Jim Hawkins."

"But you were thinking it, don't play dumb." He lay next to her, staring up through the trees at the bright blue sky. "But I could probably arrange that. But your friends wanna spend time with you too." He leaned on one elbow to look directly into her eyes. "What do you guys usually do, on your planet?"

"On Solara, we didn't have time to celebrate birthdays… We are at war constantly. Our king, my father, he… he never liked celebrating such petty things, not when the country was in peril…" She pressed her palms against her face, embarrassed of the tears trying to brim her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm ruing our day."

He took a hand from her face and kissed it, laying it down on her chest so he could look at her again. "No, you're not. These things I like to know-"

Then it hit him.

"You said the king of Solara is… your dad?" His eyes widened. "Oh, my…"

"I-I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how!" She sat up, her head spinning as she did. "Ow…" she shook the nausea running through her stomach away. "Fitting into casual conversation seemed easiest."

"You're a princess… of an entire planet… and you thought being casual was the best way to reveal that information?" He rolled his eyes at her reasoning, turning away from her.

"How would you have done it? Honestly, Jim, think about it…" She was biting her lip to hold back tears. She knew the news would upset him, but not this much.

He sighed and stole a kiss before playfully glaring at her. "Look, you can't keep secrets like that from me, OK? No more secrets."

She nodded enthusiastically, leaning up to kiss him tenderly.

"You guys kiss each other one more time, I'm going to blast you both into the next galaxy," Helena threatened.

"Enough water?" Nova teased, her fingers playing with Jim's.

"It's a bit too breezy." Charlotte kneeled in front of her roommate. "Hey, but I have an idea for your birthday: A Luau!"

Nova raised an eyebrow. "But that's an ancient Earth thing. Do you know how to hold one?"

"Oh yes!" Charlotte's eyes shone. "Please, I'll set it up, invite our friends and classmates. It'll be a big thing!"

"I-I don't want you going through trouble-" Nova began, but Charlotte placed a finger to her lips.

"Listen, Nova Finn, you have no say, understood? You're going to have this party, you're going to have fun, you're more than likely going to steal disgusting kisses from your boyfriend, and you're going to like it, whether you want to or not."

"Well," Nova said with a falsely disappointed sigh, "how could I possibly argue with that logic?"

"That's what I thought!" Charlotte and the others collected their things and left, leaving Jim and Nova alone once more.

"Charlotte's pushy, but I like that about her. That 'never-say-no-but-super-nice-attitude' is going to make her a good captain."

Jim gazed down at his girlfriend, really staring at her. Taking in her dark brown freckles that danced from cheek to cheek, how her cheeks consistently stayed pink, how pieces of her hair stuck out of its braid, which he knew consistently frustrated her. She caught him looking at her and stared back, a pale pink smile in his direction. Her eyes were so bright, sparkling, especially when looking at him, like she expected fascinating, beautiful things from him.

So much hope.

"I-" He wanted to say it, then shook his head. "Uh, I gotta plan your birthday."

"But, you heard Charlotte; she has-"

"No, I mean, my present. To you."

Her cheeks reddened even more. "OH! OK. If you want." She stared at the water a little longer then stood up, brushing sand off her legs and shorts. "Let's head back. I'm starving." She extended her hand to him, which he didn't hesitate to grab.

And they headed back to campus.


	4. Chapter 4

Interstellar Academy

04: Birthday

Nova's birthday was on a Thursday, so they decided to throw it that next Saturday. "It'll still be special," Charlotte had insisted. The girls had taken the entire day before to buy outfits, which made Nova uncomfortable.

"Jim, tell me how happy you'd be if you saw your girlfriend in a coconut bra?" Both parties stuttered, embarrassed by such a question.

But Jim made no denials, so Charlotte and Helena took that as a positive answer.

"C-can't I just wear a swimsuit top? I'd feel more comfortable. And w-what if I want go swimming?"

Charlotte chuckled. "Fine. No coconuts."

They each picked out a new bathing suit, though Nova was being more complicated. She wanted to wear a simple one piece or tankini, but Charlotte and Helena weren't having it.

"I just don't want to be too revealing…"

"That's what swimming suits are all about! Not about swimming in, it's about flaunting what you have!"

"And you have more than most girls, if you know what I mean."

Nova sucked in her lips, full of chagrin. "B-but Jim'll be there, and I just… I can't…. what if he won't like me in it? What if I look silly to him?"

"Jim is a growing teenage boy. Of course he'll be thinking silly things when he sees you…" Charlotte trailed off, raising her eyebrows at Helena. "If you know what I mean."

"S-stop," Nova said, trying to be serious, but couldn't help but laugh. "At any rate, I just don't want to embarrass myself."

"You're considered the freshmen's most beautiful girl, and you're worried about embarrassing yourself?" Charlotte sighed. "You could wear a trash bag, and you'd still look stunning."

Nova's eyes widened at the compliment. "Aw, thank you, Charlotte."

"OK," Helena interrupted, having been distracted in finding their friend a bathing suit. "What's Jim's favorite color?"

"Green…" Nova bit her lip, keeping her eyes low.

Nova remembered the first time she'd discovered that little secret. They'd been back on Montressar, the day's inn chores finished, and Jim wanted to show some foliage hiding some beautiful blue flowers. Nova was fascinated with the plants, unable to pick one since it would bring an end to its life.

"Is this your favorite color, Jim?"

"No, it's yours," he said. "Mine's green."

She looked up at him curiously, and wondered why such a random color would be his favorite. Then she noticed how he was staring into her eyes, and didn't question any further.

"Ah, we see." Helena rolled her eyes, annoyed at their couple-y-ness.

"Helena, you know you'd be the same way if my brother finally made a move," Charlotte chuckled. Helena didn't respond, instead looked more interested in the bathing suits than was truly necessary.

Finally, they left the store satisfied and went right on back home, hands full of party accessories and clothing- mainly Luau gear that the public could wear.

"What if no one comes?" Nova asked nervously, sitting in her and Jim's favorite spot on the beach. "That would be humiliating."

"This party is all anyone's been talking about since Charlotte passed out those invitations."

Charlotte had chosen the most obnoxious-looking pink and flower-y invites anyone could possibly think of.

"Still…"

"And if they don't, it would mean we could get to my present sooner…" Jim smiled mischievously at her.

"Why won't you just tell me?" she said, crossing her arms hotly. He was being extremely secretive, which annoyed her. She tried using the "no more secrets" promise they made as bait, but Jim didn't buy into it. "Doesn't count," he'd said.

"That would ruin the surprise." He kissed her forehead, which made her heart jump.

Whenever Jim made contact like that with her, getting so close she could smell him, her heart skipped a beat. He had this aroma of freshly cut wood and pine needles, and it made her head spin. And his touch brought lightning straight through her.

It was a glorious feeling.

She looked up at him hopefully, with something else twinkling in her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her, resting a hand on the back of her neck to keep her close. Twisting her head slightly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, making sure he also stayed close. His other hand traveled to her back, pulling her to him and onto his lap. She straddled him, pressing her chest roughly against his and pushing him onto the ground.

They weren't even thinking anymore. There was something else sparking between them, but before they could keep going, Nova pulled away, sitting upright, her face a bright red. "S-sorry!" She jumped to her feet and ran off, embarrassed by her childish behavior. She didn't get very far; he was much faster and had longer legs than her. He twisted her around and kissed her roughly once more, pulling away quickly to reassure her that all was fine.

"I'm not."

Saturday rolled around, and the party was already popping once Jim and Nova arrived, hand in hand, at the beach.

"Hey, welcome!" Charlotte placed a lei over both their necks. "I can't believe so many people are already here!"

At first, Nova figured they were here simply to enjoy the beach. Everyone wearing different colored leis proved otherwise.

"I better go thank them for showing up." Squeezing her boyfriend's hand, she let go and began walking up to random guests, shaking their hand and furiously thanking them for coming out.

"She's so formal. Must be a princess thing." Charlotte shrugged. "My brother and Stav are over there." Charlotte gestured toward the shore where some boys and a couple girls were playing volleyball.

Jim ran over to his friends and joined in the next game.

This wasn't your typical game of volleyball. The ball used was actually some type of energy plasma. Morph kept trying to swim out of Jim's pocket to play with it; to him, it was like his cousin. Hitting the ball or letting it fall was absolutely necessary, lest you burn your hands. Jim spiked the ball mainly to his other teammates who were close to the net, and they spiked the ball right on the other side. Once Stav hit the ball so hard over the next it caused the ball to form a glass bowl out of the sand upon contact.

Jim had grown tired, as did Ruse, and they went to wade in the water.

"Nova seems to be enjoying herself," Ruse noted, glancing back at her, Charlotte and Helena playing limbo, the floating stick ever so slowly lowering after each person went under.

"I'm glad. She's been stressed out lately."

"Why's that?" Ruse asked, as if he needed to. Nova had been consumed with royal business for a couple weeks. Her father kept her updated consistently on what was going on; she was going to rule over these people, so she had to stay updated.

"Her family, her planet. It's a lot of stuff for one girl." Jim thoughtlessly kicked the water around his ankles, watching it swell up quickly back into place.

"She doesn't like having to be away for even a night, does she?"

"Nah. Hopefully she'll be able to forget about everything, if only for tonight."

"Nervous about your gift to her?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "Well yeah. But I've been planning this so long, it's as close to perfect as it could get."

They gathered around a long table decked out in Luau décor, Charlotte going as far as to order a Solar Hog, delicacies on many planets. They sang happy birthday to their friend, cheered after blowing out the candles on her tall cake, and quickly dug into the yummy pastry. Nova stood next to Jim, playfully stealing bites from his cake.

"You have your own, Finn!" he said, holding the cake out of her reach.

"But I want yours, Hawkins!"

"They're so strong of a couple they call each other by their last names," Stav teased.

"Next they're gonna start referring to each other as 'boy' and 'girl'," Charlotte chipped in, nudging Stav playfully. Nova and Jim gave each other knowing glances.

The party died down quickly, and Nova thanked everyone for coming out and celebrating with her.

"Time for bed." Charlotte and Helena stretched dramatically, then grabbed the arms of Ruse and Stav and tugged them away. "See you at home!"

"W-what?" Nova went to follow them, but Jim reached for her hand, pulling her to him. "Jim?"

"I have something for you."

Pleasantly surprised, Nova allowed Jim to pull him where he pleased. They went passed their usual place and around a cave to-

A shack.

A wooden, yet sturdy shack.

Nova gasped. "Jim! It's beautiful! But, I don't understand-"

"You wanted us to be alone? This is the place for that. I've been working on it since that day at the beach, determined to finish it." Jim chuckled, ruffling his hair nervously. "So if I've been irritable, it wasn't me. It was determination."

Nova made him turn to face her, her eyes glowing up at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled sweetly. "You're perfect, you know that?"

He shrugged playfully, pressing his forehead against her and smiling at her mischievously. "Yeah, I've heard that, actually." He leaned down slightly so their lips touched. As the kiss deepened, he gently lifted her into his arms and carried her easily to the shack, setting her down inside.

When their lips couldn't take anymore they pulled apart, breathless, and she buried herself in his underarm.

"Yep. Perfect." She giggled, then looked at him. "But we do have to head back soon."

He grimaced, but agreed. "I know." He helped her up. "Come on. Let's try and beat curfew."

She took his hand happily. "When do you care about curfew?"

But while they jibed at one another, someone was watching, waiting, for them to exit.

And Jim could feel their eyes.

"Let's… hurry." He kept his pace as steady as humanly possible, since Nova was much shorter than him, but wanted to keep her safe.

Too late.

"Ah, look at the two love birds, nestling in their nest, it seems?"

Roger.


	5. Chapter 5

Interstellar Academy

05: Roger

"Were you… spying on us?" Jim raised his eyebrow, challenging him with his stance. "Awful creepy of you, not gonna lie."

Nova tugged on his unbuttoned shirt sleeve, hoping he'd understand she didn't want any fights tonight.

"Well, at least I'm not breaking all campus rules and regulations by building some type of childish fort on their grounds." Roger took a step forward toward Nova. Jim kept her behind him, protecting her with one arm. "You think you're enough to stop me? Really, Hawkins?"

"Can't we settle this some other night? It's kind of the girl's birthday party."

"From what I saw, the party ended a couple hours ago. And it's Sunday; it's free game, I my opinion."

Roger's hands glowed, and suddenly his skin changed, turning a deep maroon, his eyes going jet black, horns protruding out of his white hair. He lifted his hands, a menacing smile on his face.

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Jim pulled out Morph, he transformed into a flintlock. Jim aimed the pistol at their enemy.

"You don't seem too scared of your demise, James Hawkins." Jim cringed at his name. "Since you've battled space pirates, stopped a mutiny, saved a crew full of people from an exploding and found a legendary planet- and a legendary creature-" he smirked at Nova, who cowered under his gaze- "I imagine nothing phases you."

"You'd be correct, Roger Lander."

"Just step aside. Once you're out of the way, nothing can stop me from marrying the daughter of a king, ruling over the most powerful planet out of all the galaxies."

Jim sighed. "This is what it's about? Power? Typical." He fired at the man, purposefully missing, but the job doing what it needed. He wanted only to scare Roger, long enough so him and Nova- or at least Nova- could run off.

He imagined Nova wouldn't willfully leave him alone with a power hungry psychopath.

"Come with me, Little Sunmaid. And I will spare your friend here."

Nova's gaze never left Roger; she knew there was something wrong with him since day one. She shook her head defiantly.

"Do you want to keep your little Jim safe? Don't you want your planet to finally be at peace with the rest of the worlds? Doesn't that sound more pleasant than useless firearms and possible murder?"

Nova looked up at Jim, whose eyes were only on their enemy ahead. She sighed, reaching for his arm and pushing it down. "Stop, Jim." She stepped around him, head low. "I'm not going to allow you to do this, OK? I don't want anything to happen to you for my sake. I'm not worth it."

"Yes, you are-" Roger interrupted Jim by sending a powerful blast into the boy's stomach, causing to curl into himself.

"She has chosen wisely. No wonder you were so keen of her. Smart cookie." Roger turned into his usual form and forcefully linked arms with Nova, who made no protest. "Come along, my dear. After some time in the public eye, we will definitely have to have some words with your parents, yes?"

Nova didn't respond. In fact, Nova didn't look like herself at all, but like a shell being used as a puppet. Jim watched them walk off, then passed out in the sand.

Jim awoke in the infirmary, his head pounding. When he looked around, Ruse and Stav were beside him, playing thumb wars. This game always frustrated Ruse, since he only had three fingers.

"Uh…" He raised an eyebrow at their little game. "Hello?"

"JIM!" They hollered. "You've been out a whole week! But don't worry; Stav got your homework done for you."

Jim shook his head at their enthusiasm; and at the pounding headache they'd developed. "What day is it…"

"Sunday; it's been about a week since Nova's party."

At that name, many memories of that fateful day came crashing down. A splitting pang went through his head, and he had to physically hold his face in order to keep it in check.

"Hey, get a nurse," Jim heard Ruse say. Stav rushed off, his metal feet making loud clanging noises against the linoleum floor. When they were alone, Ruse couldn't help but ask, carefully, "What happened, man? What happened between you and Nova- and that Roger fellow?"

So Jim spilled everything, the shack, the kiss, the feeling he had when he knew they were being watched, and Roger's forceful attack on Jim before taking Nova away from him.`

"So he's forcing her," Ruse said, sitting back. "That's sick."

"Tell me about it. And it's also so he'd leave me alone. She hates whenever I have enemies; it makes her more nervous."

"So that's why you try to be friendly toward everyone. In all honesty, Jim, that doesn't seem like you, not when I first met you."

"It's not." Jim sighed, burying the back of his head into the hard infirmary pillow. "You do that, though, change for people you care about."

"I know." Ruse leaned his chair back, looking up thoughtfully at the ceiling. "She looks miserable. I knew something had to be up. Glad I know the whole story now."

"I wish I could see her…" Jim bit his lip, looking away.

"You really don't. She looks sick now, and it's only been a week. But whenever she's around him, she holds this ugly little smile- it's really horrible. HE'S really horrible."

After being checked out, Ruse and Stav helped a weak Jim back to their dorm, where the boy lay for several hours, finally falling back to sleep. When he awoke, it was midnight, his roommates long asleep and ready for class the next morning. Jim, however, was not too anxious and unnerved to sleep, and jumped out of bed. Before he realized it, he was in their shack, a figure hunched in the corner almost scaring the skin right off him.

"Who's there…?" he said carefully. All he saw at first was black. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was hair.

HER hair.

She looked back, eyes brimming with tears she refused to cry; sunmaid's tears solidified into pearls whenever they cried. She was taught at a young age that crying would only feed into the "landlubbers" her father disapproved of.

"J-Jim?" She squinted, her eyes puffy and rimmed red. She did look sick, like she was ready to collapse any second. "Jim! Oh, no! I have to go-"

"Wait, Nova!" He cornered her, either hand on the side of her head, his forehead against hers. "What's wrong with you? You need to see a doctor!"

Nova shook her head, trying to shove him aside, but he was simply too strong.

"Please, Jim, I don't want you to get hurt anymore." The tears began to spill, which Nova quickly swatted at them.

"No, not until you tell me what's going on. I hate that you're like this. Ruse says you haven't been yourself."

"Because he doesn't want me to be myself!" she screamed at him. "All the time, it's what he wants. He wants this perfect girlfriend-to-be-wife, and forces me to eat less and makes me wear disgusting itchy clothes and only smile! I can't feel a certain way without his say-so, I HATE HIM." She clutched at her hair, which she now wore down and wavy. "I hate this! I hate everything, I've never felt so angry and upset, never! Not since-" and she choked, dropping to her knees. "When I heard you had woken up, all I wanted to do was see you. But he could tell that's what I wanted and slapped me and told me that if I ever even THOUGHT about seeing you he'd make sure that we'd never have anything to do with each other again!" She was sobbing uncontrollably now, using her weak arms to hold herself together. "I… I'm so sorry-"

"Don't you dare apologize." Jim wrapped his arms gently around her. He'd never seen her this upset before, and his heart was breaking at the sight of it. "None of this is your fault."

She shook his arms off her. "No, Jim, you can't touch me. We shouldn't even be around each other, or he'll-" She bit her lip at her next words. Jim didn't need her to say them; he knew.

"I don't care, Nova. I just can't stand to see you like this anymore. I have to somehow beat Roger. SOMEHOW." Jim thought a moment. They hadn't exchanged many words, but Jim knew one thing- Roger thrived power, and he thrived on the idea of everyone knowing he had power. "Got it."

Nova looked up at Jim, his face full of determination. She rested her head against his chest, heaving a sigh. "I've missed you. This past week was worse than the three months we spent apart."

"I'll get you out of this, Nova. I promise you that." He lifted her chin to face him, making sure she could tell he meant his words.

"I don't approve, but I can't stop you."


	6. Chapter 6

Interstellar Academy

06: Over

So the remainder of their semester went on pretty solemnly. Jim and Nova never even spoke to each other, let alone hung around, at the pleasure of Nova's "boyfriend" Roger.

A week before the semester was officially over, and the holidays began, was parents' week. Jim's mother was excited to see her son after almost half a year without him. She wrote him furiously all semester long, and he felt awful for almost never responding. But he would get her up to speed when she was here.

Also during the last half of his semester, Jim and his friends devised a plan to finally take down Roger and get their friend back from his evil clutches. Nova wouldn't take part in it, not only because Roger would probably find out and bring harm to them, but she felt there were other ways to solve a problem other than with violence.

Because that was Jim's only solution: violence.

Roger had also taken up many technology and physically demanding classes, so unfortunately they saw much of each other.

But the final exam for their flintlock class was to build the ultimate pistol- and duel with it. They were allowed to pick their partners, and to everyone's utter surprise, Jim picked Roger. He had to use this chance to take advantage of him, over power him, humiliate him.

Nova was getting worse and worse day by day. She began looking sickly her teachers consistently checked on her whenever they saw her even walking by. Twice she'd passed out during class, and her grades were beginning to drop. She was a perfectionist; it wasn't like her to fail anything.

Parents flocked in, Jim scanning the crowd for his mother. She looked well rested, but then again restless, like she was antsy. He came up behind her and hugged her, surprising her at first before she attacked him with a strong hug of her own.

"Hey, mom," he said kissing her cheek before escorting her to the campus dining hall. Parents and students flocked inside, trying to find a place for at least their parents to sit; most students stood behind their chairs and stood at attention.

"Welcome, parents!" called the dean, holding all six of his arms excitedly and clapping all three pairs of hands. "I'm glad to see you all here today! I'm sure you want to get along with becoming once again acquainted with your children. Some ushers will be coming by and will be around the room with brochures of the events being held this week. Please take one to stay updated on what's going on! WELCOME!"

The students cheered, Jim bending down to hug his mother. They left shortly thereafter, grabbing a brochure and looking at the school-held events, deciding which ones to ditch, which ones they absolutely had to attend.

Jim talked about his school life- trying to keep out the love drama details and rivalries censored out- and his mother briefed him on some news going on at home. Doctor Delbert and Amelia were expecting yet another child, which they were very excited about. One of their daughters is trying to ride on a tricycle, which worried the Doc, but he knew it would happen eventually. B.E.N. was interested in some dishwashing bot they'd hired at the inn.

"About time that kid found love," Jim chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Maybe they could tolerate him crying all over their shoulders instead of using mine."

They walked along the beach for awhile, taking in the view, before his mother decided her "old" bones needed some rest. Taking her back to the living quarters especially accommodated for the parents, he hugged her goodnight and promised to come see her first thing class let out.

He was glad his mother did everything she could to avoid talking about Nova. In fact, it was like she'd forgotten all about her. Jim wished he had that ability.

Speaking of which…

Nova was next to the fountain, plucking aimlessly at a flower with so many petals, one would wonder if she'd ever finish tarnishing the poor thing. A couple birds flew beside her, but she didn't seem to notice them.

"Nova?" Jim looked around cautiously before sitting next to her. "Hey, where are your parents?"

"They didn't come… You know, war against other planets and all that…"

Jim furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of what to say.

"I'm so tired…" She wasn't saying this to him, but more like a simple thought aloud.

"Then go to bed…" He reached out to hold her hand- or to simply touch her as gently as possible; she looked as if she might break any moment- but she flinched away from him, like he was made of pure lightning. "Nova…"

She sighed, still hiding under hair. She brushed some of it behind her ears, though it still wasn't under control; so that was why she'd put it up so often. Her face was so thin, like she was being attacked from the inside-out by some disease. Her eyes looked wider, and she had bags sinking too keep into her face.

"Nova, I think we need to take you to a doctor." She opened her mouth to protest, but he didn't listen to it. Instead, he picked her up- too easily- and carried her to the infirmary. "We need to go to a hospital." He looked at the nurse pleadingly, and she happily obliged. She stared at Nova as if she'd wanted to dial those precious numbers for quite a while.

Jim lay her on the bench, and they waited patiently for someone to take her away. She said nothing of protest; in fact, she was trying to get herself strapped in, like she wanted to get out of that room and into a whiter, cleaner one.

And off she was.

Jim threw himself into the school activities for three days, trying to act as happy and cheerful as possible. Once he'd gotten the call from Nova's room that she wanted to see him, he broke off any plans he had- which was with their friends, and they completely understood- and rode (illegally) a solar surfer out to the hospital.

He ran up to her room and busted open the door. She was sitting peacefully in a chair by the window, her head resting on the large windowsill, her hands nestling her chin. Her hair was tied in its usual braid and when she turned around at the sound of him, she looked so much fuller and lively. She smiled at him, though it was weak, with the same hope and love as before.

"Hi, Jim."

He stood beside her at first, taking her in, finding all the old pieces in this little shell of a thing. Then he bent down and kissed her forehead, at which she didn't flinch, she didn't move away, but sighed into.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he said into her forehead. "Stop."

"I like it when you scold me," she said shyly, sounding like herself. She leaned back to smile at him brightly. "It shows you care."

"Idiot." He knelt beside her. "Does he know?"

"That I'm here?" She slouched a bit at the mention of Roger. "No. He keeps contacting and harassing you guys, I hear. Are you sure you're doing the right thing?" Her face grew a bit pale. What if… I just can't stand the idea of something happening to you. I'm not worth-"

"Shut. Up." He sighed hotly, rolling his eyes. "Look, because I-" He bit his lip, not sure if he should say it or wait until a more opportune moment. Then the words "Carpe Diem" went through his mind and decided to go with it. Looking dead in her eyes, he continued. "I love you, Nova. It's not some stupid puppy love, it's this serious, sickening, weird love that keeps me awake and torments me and makes me feel more alive than anything else possibly could. The most thrilling feeling in the world isn't some pirate adventure, isn't escaping exploding planets, or even flying with you, but being in love with you. Everything about you it just, I don't know." He cut off then, pressing a hand to his face, embarrassed.

"You… do?" Her eyes looked like they were sparkling at him when he finally looked at her. "You really feel that way? Because I love you too. More than I could express. And sometimes I lay awake at night wondering if the amount of love for you is enough, and I always tell myself no because quite frankly you deserve more than me."

They were face to face now, him holding onto the arm of her chair almost desperately, like a man holding onto a cliff for dear life. She clutched the hospital gown they'd provided her, wringing it nervously.

"There's nothing I deserve more than you. Because there's nothing else."

She crashed into him then, kissing him furiously and desperately. They clung to each other until one of them needed air, and even then, when one pulled away, the other pushed back, being more forceful.

"Save me, Jim. Because I can't anymore. I'm in too deep." Her eyes brimmed and sparkled with tears she wouldn't allow herself to cry. "I messed up, but please. Jim…"

"I'll get you out of this."

And he kept to that promise.

Last day of parents' day consisted of parents patiently waiting for their children to finish the last of their exams. The last exam to be taken was the flintlock test, which Jim was ready for. Nova was admitted from the hospital, and stood in the crowd cheering for Roger, for the sake of appearances.

"You think you can beat me, Hawkins?"

"I'm betting on it, Lander." They glared at each other before the referee sounded the bell.

Showtime.


	7. Chapter 7

Interstellar Academy

07: Duel

Jim hated the idea of fighting in front of his mother; he'd generally briefed her on the stakes, so she mildly understood why he was doing it. Even so, he felt almost animalistic, how his thirst for this creature's downfall seemed almost overpowering. He lifted his flintlock- which looked like a sword, initially- and aimed it at Roger. The man beamed evilly at the weapon; he wasn't undermining it. Good. Jim wanted the man to let his guard down.

Roger revealed the mother of flintlocks: it was double barreled, large trigger so there was no slipping, and a "hidden" barrel that looked it replaced the one on top.

He wouldn't admit it, but Jim did feel a little inferior. But he wasn't going to allow that to stop him from his goal. He glanced up at Nova, who was holding her face, anxious. She was looking between the two competitors, her eyes landing on Jim's staring at her. He could see her body relax under his gaze. He nodded once at her, subtly, but he got one right back.

"GO!"

Roger shot the instant the referee gave the verbal OK. Jim was ready for the cheap shot and barrel-rolled out of the way. The blast was powerful and nearly took his leg off. Roger looked frustrated that Jim was so mentally prepared, but wasn't deterred.

Charlotte came up behind Nova, scaring her, but wrapped an arm around her thinned waist anyway. "I know that you're scared for him."

"N-No." Nova couldn't bring herself to look at her old friend. She'd ditched all of them since she'd started "dating" Roger. "Roger can help himself. He's a big boy."

"We both know who you're talking about." They're conversation paused at the sound of another loud blast. It had come from Jim, who, evidently, installed some type of laser in his sword attachment.

"I know…" Nova leaned against the railing, squeezing the cold metal. "Roger is so sneaky. He could make it all look like an accident…"

Charlotte rubbed Nova's back, surprised at how much her spine was protruding through her skin. Her and Roger have only been together for two weeks; how many meals HAD she had in those fourteen days?

"Jim has this under control," Charlotte reassured her. "We've been practicing."

Nova raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, simply watching.

Roger and Jim had sent a blast of energy simultaneously, causing a large ball of plasma to form in the middle of the playing field.

Nova panicked. "JIM!" She practically fell forward, trying to find her ex-boyfriend amidst the dust cloud.

The smoke cleared, revealing both boys injured, but still standing. The crowd was going crazy. They wanted more explosions. Nova took a daring glance at Jim's mother, Sarah, who had at the same time looked at her. She wore the same worried expression Nova knew she held. They turned their attention back to the field.

Jim was holding his arm- his flintlock holding arm- and wincing, a scrape on his head bleeding almost profusely. Roger was no better. In fact, Nova was more than convinced that the silver-haired demon was worse off. There was blood streaming out of his ear and down his neck, his shirt had been ripped in the crossfire, revealing scratches that would no doubt form into scars.

"Jim, please. Someone, just forfeit," Nova silently begged, her eyes tearing up. "Someone just give up."

"You know they're not going to do that," said Stav, surprising her. Apparently, her old gang had all decided to stand beside her. "As long as it's you, Jim won't give up."

"You didn't disprove or approve, Miss Finn," Ruse said with a sly expression. "So Jim took that as your affirmation."

"Idiot!" Nova half-shouted.

"You know boys and fighting," Helena said nonchalantly. "They never give up until someone's the wiser."

Nova bit her lip. She had to stop them from doing this. She held no feelings toward Roger, and he'd brutally hurt her, but even through all that, she couldn't bring herself to want any sort of pain toward the demon. "The wiser… the wiser…" She repeated the words over and over, looking around the stadium, until something caught her eye. "I got it!" She pushed passed Stav and Charlotte on her right and toward Sarah. "I need your help to stop this!"

Sarah looked surprised, then determined. "Anything."

Nova grabbed hold of her wrist and tugged her toward an upper part of the stadium. "We gotta knock a flintlock from SOMEONE'S hand. That way, if it's destroyed, it's automatic disqualification, and no one wins because it's no one's fault on the field."

"They can go home safe and not dead, sounds like an excellent plan to me!"

At the top of the dome, Nova saw a loose light fixture. She opened the top of the dome, to everyone's surprise, allowing the stars to stream through. "I need you to start untying this. And when I get over there, let it go. Don't think, don't hesitate, just let it go."

Sarah nodded, unsure of the actual plan going on in the girl's head, but not arguing with it. Though she did have something to say. "You still love him, don't you?"

Nova felt this was an awkward conversation to have with someone's mother, but why not just answer the question? "Yes. Very much." She looked back at Sarah with so much longing and sadness that the older woman couldn't argue with her. She simply nodded for the girl to go.

The moons were bright tonight, two of them full, and the stars were full on.

Oh, look, a meteor shower! This night was perfectly timed, Nova couldn't help but think.

The girl gave herself a running start then darted across the field toward the loose fixture. Once she had her hands on it, Sarah let go of the rope holding it up. Nova and the light went flying toward the field, right toward Roger. She reached out one hand to grab his flintlock.

But one thing Nova hadn't accounted for was, 'What if they grabbed back?'

She held her shimmery star form, her face covered by many plasma orbs. Roger had held on as she swung toward the other side, the rope wanting to go up opposite of Sarah. Roger wasn't having it, but looked like he didn't have a choice. His girlfriend was a lot stronger in this form, and gave up his flintlock. She tossed it into the stands, toward some blank seats, and almost screamed when it exploded into smithereens, all evidence of it gone.

The referee was speechless at first, trying to take in the scene, then regained himself and said over the mike, "Looks like Landers must forfeit. So James Hawkins wins the competition!"

The crowd went crazy over this news; maybe Landers had less followers than he initially bragged about.

Nova snuck away and into the outer-dome, shifting back into the "original" form and rushing back inside to meet with a victorious- and smiling- Jim. He didn't look particularly excited to see her, but hugged her tightly anyway, carefully as if not to crush her.

"You shouldn't have done that, Finn."

"You shouldn't have gone to kill yourself, Hawkins."

They let go so Jim could meet with his professor for his grade. Hopefully, Roger would receive a decent grade for participating.

Outside, as people dwindled into their townhomes and dorms for the night, the excitement having gotten to them, Nova met with Roger, who was fuming angry.

"You… YOU!" He lifted his hand as if to slap her. She flinched at the movement, holding her hands in front of her face. "You ruined everything for me! I could have beaten Hawkins, could have showed the world just what a powerful man I am! Now look at me- LOOK AT ME!" He grabbed hold of her wrist, twisting it down to force her to look up. "I looked like an absolute idiot!" His hand still suspended, he went to bring it down to strike Nova.

Only a paler, stronger one came and stopped him.

"It's over, Landers." Jim's voice floated into Nova's ears, and she sprang upright, embarrassed. "You're not going to lay another hand on her."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was a relationship for THREE," Roger sneered. "As long as she's not with you, I can do as I please, for she's with me."

Those words brought a heart-wrenching solution to her problem.

"Fine," the girl spoke up, stepping away from both of them. "Then I'm single. From both of you." She looked angrily at Roger, then sadly at Jim. "You said as long as I'm not with Jim, right?" Roger, flustered, tried to correct himself, but Nova wasn't having it. "Nope. That's what you said, as long as I'm not with Jim. You can't bring anymore harm to either of us." Jim looked shocked and disappointed at what Nova was declaring, but also knew this was probably the best answer.

"FINE!" Roger growled. A short burst of lightning shot behind him, making both Nova and Jim flinch. "One wrong glance, one forbidden kiss, one ANYTHING IN THE ACT OF BEING A COUPLE, and I'll bring you both down!"

Nova and Jim nodded solemnly, then watched the demon walk away, a storm cloud following above him. Then the girl crashed onto her knees, her small body unable to handle anymore stress.

"Nova!" Jim bent down to help her up, but she pushed him away, almost falling over in the process. "Nova, friends help each other out. Come on, please?"

She looked up into his desperate blue gaze and adhered to his wish, reaching a hand out to him. Leaning against him, she allowed him to lead her home where Charlie and Helena had met them to help her into bed.

That night, she cried silent crystal tears, wishing their lives hadn't gotten so complicated, and silently asking herself when in the world it actually did. She cried herself to sleep, her last thought being of her brown haired, blue-eyed hero.


	8. Chapter 8

Interstellar Academy

08: New

Finally the semester was over, and they'd gone home. The group had done rather well on their exams, to the surprise of Nova, Helena and Ruse especially. Nova was more than convinced she would be celebrating Christmas early- in her room, locked away for failing school so miserably. She'd done above average work, including some extra credit she had to do in order to stay up-to-speed with the other students; the Roger fiasco had majorly distracted her and put her behind.

After a month long holiday break, they students flooded back, almost anxiously. The freshmen were ready to get their first year over with. Jim, Ruse and Stav still shared rooms, as did Nova, Helena and Charlotte. Over the break, Lena and Charlie had fought and were currently arguing over who got the single bed.

The other four watched helplessly as the girls argued over their lunch break.

"H-Hey. Why don't we move into a bigger room? We could separate the bunk beds and everyone would have a single bed?" Nova tried.

"NO!" they snapped, causing the girl to flinch. They continued on with their fight.

"Maybe we should move," Jim suggested quietly. The other three nodded in agreement and inched away from the screaming teenagers toward another empty table.

"Are you excited to be starting a new semester, Nova?" asked Stav.

Nova was shocked at the fact the robot was referring to her at all; last semester they hadn't said much to each other, except some occasional jibes. She nodded her head, her mouth stuffed with salad. When her throat was cleared she continued. "I'm excited to just get this year over with. I'm so tired of school. We don't have as much of it on Solara."

"Well, how long do you have school?"

"Until we're fourteen. Then we spend the rest of our adulthood plotting wars like our parents." Nova shrugged, picking at the large green leaves she suddenly found less appetizing.

"I'm glad you're not like that," said the robot, smiling sheepishly at her. Nova returned the smile ten-fold then continued eating.

Jim couldn't help but stare at the way Stav looked at Nova, or the way Nova glanced at Stav.

They couldn't be…

I mean, that was ridiculous, those two. But really…

Jim looked over at Ruse, who was observing the same thing.

Back at the boys dorms' basketball court, Jim and Ruse were playing a rousing game of hoops while Stav continued to study his astrology.

"Hey, so, did something happen over break?" Ruse finally inquired, wiping the sweat from his green forehead.

Stav glanced daringly at Jim before answering. "Well… almost." The robot kept his glance upward. "Look, don't get the wrong idea. It's just, I went to visit Solara with some family; apparently, Nova's parents think it's wise to make an alliance with our robot planet. It was all business so me and Nova snuck away." Jim stood defensively, Stav noticed, but said nothing. "Nothing happened. Honest, nothing at all. But I'm not gonna lie to you and say there wasn't a… click."

Jim tossed the ball at Stav's head, though it was useless; the robot's hand-eye coordination was unbeatable. "Sure that wasn't your head?"

"Oh, ha ha," said Stav, rolling his eyes and tossing the ball violently back. "Look, I don't think anything would happen. All she talked about all break was you. But when she wasn't talking about her beloved Jim Hawkins, she was just…" Stav grimaced, trying to find the best way to describe how this girl made him feel. "It's weird. I didn't know I was capable of this. But then I was just spending so much time with her, I dunno." He pressed a hand to his face. "I know how you feel about her, Jim. How you're in love with her, and the fact she's definitely in love with you. But I donno, I think she's just lonely."

Jim raised a daring eyebrow, urging Stav to continue.  
"She said something about your 'spot' and how special just being there meant to her. And now she can't bring herself to visit it because of all the memories. And so she was talking to me about moving on, and as the holiday went on… well, I brought up moving on… with me…"

Jim's mouth hung open. Shaking his head angrily, he said, "You know you're a ROBOT right? Like, if anything happened, it'd be cold and weird and-"

"This was brought up!" Stav interrupted hotly. Trying to regain his composure, he stood up and took a ball off the rack, shooting it nonchalantly- yet perfectly- into the hoop. "I told her that as long as we cared about each other, that it wouldn't matter, and she wouldn't notice. She agreed with me. But before we could keep talking about it, negotiations were over and off I was brought back to my planet."

"SERIOUSLY?" Jim shouted. "You know I'm in love with this girl! I've been in love with her for almost a year! A YEAR! There's a year of history and secret-revealing and touching and kissing and everything else that you don't have a chance against!"

"As long as Roger is in the picture," Stav challenged, whirling around on his metallic heels, "there's not a darn thing you can do about it! If she moves on, you should be happy about it! You should be happy she doesn't feel pressured to date one or the other, that she actually has a choice!" Stav sighed then, holding his head. "She was under that demon's control for so long, the concept obviously escapes her. Now she may or may not have a choice out of the ones she'd been given. You should be happy!"

"How am I supposed to be happy if the girl I'm head over heels in love with is possibly falling for you! How am I supposed to at all enjoy that idea!"

"I don't know, Jim, you just do BECAUSE you love her!"

The argument ended abruptly. Jim stayed the night in a tech buddy's room for a few days, which turned into a few weeks, which turned into a couple months.

The semester half over by now, the gang had split up. Nova and Stav were, in fact, getting along quite nicely, at the surprise of some and behest of others. They weren't making anything public, however, which had to be a sign in itself.

Helena had gone off to another planet for one whole semester to study geography. She wanted so badly to study maps of the ship; after hearing about Jim's adventures with a certain treasure map, it piqued her interest and she needed to know more. Charlotte was busy with swim team, to everyone's surprise, but they met at each of her meets to cheer her on. Charlotte seemed to be the only thing linking the group together.

Late one night, Nova had stayed in the library to brush on her geometry. She felt she was slacking in the angles department and had asked for a tutor to help her. When the tutor was yawning over her work, Nova had given the poor man permission to leave, thanking him for his time and patience. He'd helped her tremendously, but she wanted to know more. There was so much to learn.

Stav snuck up behind her, startling her, but she smiled at him anyway.

"Hey! Glad to see you're still working hard," Stav joked, winking a bright blue eye at her.

"Ah, yes. I am struggling in geometrics, and had asked a tutor to assist me. It helped, but I'd kept him late." She sighed. "There's just so much I have questions on."

"How about I help you?" Stav scooted his chair closer to hers, their knees touching. He cleared his throat, pretending to ignore the contact. "Where are you stuck on?"

"So far, area. The different formulas confuse me."

"Alright, let's start with a triangle and work ourselves up."

So Stav and Nova spent another going over formula after formula, practice problem after practice problem, until Nova's brain couldn't take anymore knowledge. She shut her geometry book abruptly and lay her head on it, as if she were ready to sleep upon it. Covering her mouth, she gave a roaring yawn, which Stav responded to.

"I guess it's about time we head on to bed." He escorted her to her dorm, but stopped her just at the door. She turned to him, confused. "Look, I have to bring something up with you. And I want you to be one hundred percent honest with me, OK?"

Nova nodded, a single eyebrow raised.

"We've been talking for awhile. And I know that…that I'm a robot, so things are… weird and everything… but I was wondering if…" He looked into her green eyes, noticing his message registering in her orbs.

"Uh… Stav, I-"

"I don't want an answer right now- I know I said to be honest, but think on it. Please?"

Nova bit her lip, then nodded. "OK. I'll think on it. Give me until Friday." With that, she snuck into her room, her heart pounding.

She loved Jim. That was the biggest problem. If Roger finally left them alone, she would go back to Jim in a heartbeat- if he took her back. If she dated Stav, as much as they'd been connecting, she would inevitably hurt him. She would have to bring that up with him.

Nova really thought about what had happened between the two of them for their feelings to grow like this. It was definitely an intellectual thing. Though Stav was attractive, and Nova was said to be attractive herself, the main thing that brought them together was intelligence, and a way to communicate thoroughly with their brain. It made their relationship more interesting.

But then there was Jim.

Jim was exciting. Loving. Frustrating. Loathsome. Always hiding behind something. Always up to no good. Always putting others before him. He was a mix of things that drove Nova absolutely insane.

And they were all the reasons why she loved him.


	9. Chapter 9

Interstellar Academy

09: Talking

Nova decided to discuss the matter with Jim. It would hurt him if he found out about anything from another source. This way, she could talk about this full-on, no secrets, and the information would come directly from the initial source.

Jim was playing basketball, making three throws perfectly. She waited until he'd taken a swig of his water before clearing her throat to interrupt him. He turned around and gave that mischievous smile she hadn't seen in so long. Her heart leapt into her throat, and for a moment she felt dizzy. Shaking her head, she said, "I have to talk to you about something."

Jim seemed confused, since they hadn't said much to each other for a few months now. However, he obliged, sitting at a nearby bench and patting the seat next to him. She sat beside him, wanting to be close but keeping her distance.

"So… Stav asked me out…" She said this slowly, giving it a moment to sink in. Then she hurriedly said, "But I'm probably gonna say no."

Jim's posture relaxed at those words. "Oh. Then what are you wanting to talk about."

"Well…" She sighed, throwing her head back. "I HATE BEING A TEENAGER!" She looked at him almost accusingly. "What with classes and homework and extra curricular activities and friend drama and love drama it's utterly- UGH."

"Yeah, welcome to my life." He was smiling at her outburst. "But you know what makes it worth it?" She simply narrowed her eyes at his question. He nudged her shoulder, which made a laugh escape from her lips. "Moments like this, where being a teenager doesn't matter. Knowing that you have a few buds, or just one, you can pal around with and just be a dude. Or a girl. It's whatever."

She breathed hotly for a second, but his good humor was contagious. "I was just… confused for a minute. I was wondering to myself, 'What about Stav do I like so much?' But then it went into, 'What about Stav reminds me of Jim?' Then, 'What about Jim do I like?' And that list was never ending…" She blushed at her words. She'd forgotten they weren't dating, so saying things like that probably made the situation awkward.

Looking at Jim, he wasn't uncomfortable with her words. Moreso, he seemed comforted by them. "Ah. I didn't know you thought about me that much. Or thought about Stav like that."

"I-I don't. With me and Stav, we're intellectually connected. Everything we talk about is based around the brain: maths, science, history, ancient literature. There's no other attraction than that. However, with YOU…"

"It's everything in between?" he finished, locking eyes with her.

"Yeah, exactly like that." She tore her gaze away, focusing on a random pebble on the gravel. "I just wish… it was easier. For us. Or I wouldn't be thinking about stupid things like…" She sighed, not sure how to word it nicely.

"Like possibly moving on," Jim said darkly, his expression matching his tone. He turned his head away from her, as if disgusted by her.

"I'm sorry…"

Nothing was said for awhile, then finally, "Look, Nova. You mean more to me than I could even fathom to comprehend. But if Roger is going to continue to pester us, I want you to find a way to move on. From me. I'll even do the same."

This last sentence hurt her, though afterward she felt selfish. How dare he try to move on when she was thinking of doing the same thing? Someone had to stay attached!

"Oh. Well, see. That might have solved my problem…" She stood up then, brushing the back of her skirt.

He was on his feet in a second. "Don't think I'll give up. I'm not one to give up so easily. Especially when it comes to someone I care for."

She looked him dead in the eye then, searching his face for something false, anything. Nope. Everything he was saying was the truth, absolutely. "I know, Jim. I just don't want you to run out of options before you realize that you have them."

His hands were clenching. One would believe he was being frustrated and stubborn. Nova knew him, though, and understood he only wanted to reach out and touch her. She'd be lying if she said she didn't want the same darn thing.

They went their separate ways then, their lunch break over. She focused with all her might on her classes, which seemed to drag. He almost cut his fingers off losing focus during a shop class, and almost shot himself in the gut during Flintlock II class. After a long, agonizing day of classes, everyone almost flooded home.

The next couple days passed by slowly, everyone seeming focused in their work. It was the end of the semester, and they wanted whatever work they were doing to really count.

And it was Friday.

Nova decided to meet Stav behind the school's courtyard; there was a maze that would be perfectly private. She didn't want to break his heart, but knew it necessary. If she continued on with this relationship, and tried to be more than friends, it would only spell disaster for them.

Stav made her feel worse when he showed up with a bouquet of flowers. She pushed them back at him slowly, looking him dead in the eye, and he knew her answer right from there.

"But why? I thought…"

"We WERE… but…" She sighed, pressing a hand to her head.

"Jim."

She nodded.

He huffed at her response. "The guy's nothing but trouble, Nova. I would provide stability, comfort. You'd always be safe."

"But that's just it." She looked up at him, torn. "That's what it is about Jim that draws me. He's daring, challenging, frustrating, stubborn, annoying, but he's also loyal, fun, hilarious, and just… He's everything that I want to be in a person. He's everything, Stav. I can't replace that. I can't attempt to. I can't move on from him."

Stav looked hurt, but a sad smile formed on his face and he nodded, understanding. "Well, whenever you need someone to discuss books with, know I'm your guy."

She nodded back, hurting herself, but glad to get that out of the way.

That was when it happened.

The entire planet shook.

Nova and Stav fell to their knees, holding onto each other until the shaking ceased. The sirens went off then.

"EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

"Come on," said Stav, grabbing hold of Nova's wrist and tugging her toward the closest emergency shelter, students already flooding into the entrance that led to a small room under the ground.

"Wait, Jim!" Nova pulled back, trying to pry away.

"Nova, he's fine! Come on, now!" It was no use, however; her will to find her friend was more powerful than his grip. He looked torn, like he didn't want to leave her alone yet didn't want to be out in the middle of this random planet-quake.

"Stay here, Stav! If I'm not back in ten minutes, close that door!" And she ran off toward the one place she knew her friend would be.

The basketball court was absolute rubble. It must have been built over a fault line.

"JIM!" she called frantically. "JIM! Please, if you're here-" She stopped at the sound of groaning. She pinpointed the origin of the noise and began tossing rubble aside. Desperate, not caring who saw, she called upon the stars to help her, making her hands move faster and lift more weight. Finally, she saw him; most of the debris missed his upper torso and one of his leg, it was his other leg that seemed stuck. "Oh, Jim!"

He looked up then, seeing a silhouette hovering over an opening above him. "N…Nova?"

She stepped back so she could easily make the opening bigger. Slowly, she climbed down and to his side. "Jim, my goodness." She looked at the disaster around his leg. "I… I can't move it! If I do, it'll crash around us."

"I'm fine. Once the quakes pass they can help you out." His voice was raspy; how much blood had he lost?

Nova panicked, bending over him, caressing his face slowly, holding back tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He chuckled, then coughed at the movement. "It's OK, Nova. It's not your fault."

"I just… I'm so useless. As a friend, a girlfriend, and now a hero. I can't save you, no matter how hard I try."

He clutched her upper arm and pulled her closer to him. She was shocked by the movement, but didn't complain. Their noises were touching and their eyes couldn't move from the other.

"I love you. You came out in the middle of some planet-quake disaster to find me. That's proof you love me too."

She nodded, biting her lip to hold back tears.

"Then that's my strength to get through this. You're my strength, Nova. You push me to great things, and to do great things. Believe that."

A few more tremors came upon the planet. Rubble tried to fall on them, but Nova would build a temporary barrier to protect them. It was best she could do. Finally, when the quakes officially ceased and people were heard outside, she began yelling out to them.

"Someone! Anyone, please! Help, we're in here!"

Jim was removed from the rubble and onto a stretcher. Nova was given permission to ride alongside him to the nearest hospital. Her friends met her awhile later, fresh clothes and a blanket in hand, their arms ready for hugging. Nova quickly changed into the sweat clothes and wrapped herself in the blanket, resting her head on Stav's shoulder. They waited silently for two hours, then finally a six-armed doctor came sauntering from Jim's area. Nova flew to her feet, her friends right behind her.

"You may see him, BUT no more than two at a time."

Nova looked back at them, then said, "You guys go first, please. I want to be alone with him when you're done."

They nodded, understanding, and took turns (Ruse and Charlotte, Stav and Helena) talking with him. Helena and Stav came out after only fifteen minutes and gestured her the OK. She didn't wait but a second to rush back there to see him.

He was laying on an all-white bed set, his injured leg elevated, his head patched up from some cutting done during the quakes. He was looking out the window, peacefully and beautifully. He glanced in her direction when he heard her shuffle in, and his eyes shone at the very sight of her.

That was all she could take.

She ran to him and wrapped her arms desperately around his neck, holding him tightly. His strong arms held her firmly, as if he wasn't ever going to let her go.

She wouldn't have protested.

Finally, she leaned back, their eyes locking, their expressions a mix of love, hurt, sadness and happiness.

"I… Uh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you." She lay a hand on his shoulder, the other in his palm.

"No. Never." He tilted his head to one side, leaning in so slowly, as if waiting for her to back away or shove him off.

When she made no such movement, he touched her mouth gently with his, his heart and stomach swelling with emotion. He deepened the kiss, cradling a hand behind her head to keep her close. It didn't last long, her always needing air, but that one kiss confirmed everything for him.

"I'll wait. Until everything's blown over. Until however long, if it means I can someday do that all the time."

Jim smiled mischievously, driving her heart crazy. "And who says we can't?"

The boy had a plan. And as he leaned in for another passionate kiss, it unraveled quickly in his mind his next course of action.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: SHOUTOUTS! 8D Thank you DJpaigeDJ for favoriting me as an author! And TwilightAnimeLover21 and phoenixmoon25572 for favoriting one of my stories! It means everything to me knowing SOMEONE is reading them!

Interstellar Academy

10: Captured

Here it came: Spring break. The one time of the year where everyone used this very week as an excuse to act like an idiot. Nova's family didn't need her, so she decided to spend time with Charlotte. Helena had gotten a break from her studying abroad and decided to join in. Before they knew it, the whole gang was back together, regular- despite Jim's broken leg.

They were at the beach, lounging and plotting their week long festivities.

"What do you wanna do?" Charlotte asked to no one in particular. Then she turned to Nova. "I bet your planet has to be holding some type of party, right?"

Nova's eyes widened at being put on the spot, then sat up on her elbows, contemplating a moment. "Not as far as I know. We don't party, really. We just plot the deaths of others, have brief celebrations, go on to the next." Nova shrugged. She acted so nonchalant about her planet's unnecessary slaughtering and hostile take-overs.

"What are you gonna do when you're queen, Nova?" Helena asked, a bit annoyed. "You're nothing like that. I couldn't see you taking over an entire planet. Unless it was bunnies or something."

Nova sniffed defensively at her, then said, "Well, if I'm lucky, my older brother will be the heir."

"He's your twin, Nova."

"And more bent on destroying other planets than I am." She sighed. "Now I'm depressed."

"OH LOOK A CHANGE IN SUBJECT!" Charlotte pointed upward, and of course everyone followed her direction. This caused a small spurt of laughter.

"Onto real business, people," the green-skinned alien said, clapping her hands for emphasis. "It officially starts in two days, and we need to find somewhere we can go in that short amount of time, have some fun, then be back in time for exams."

They put their heads together, having formed a star with their lounging bodies. Then Jim looked over at Nova. "You miss swimming, don't you?"

She blushed under his gaze, almost losing her train of thought. She composed herself enough to nod at his question.

Being a sunmaid, it was easy for her to change by will. But there were two things that made her change involuntarily: plasma (which was why she couldn't come into contact with Morph) and water. She wished she could swim in the ocean like everyone else, but she couldn't risk being exposed. Half the people here were treasure hunters, and finding a rare creature in their midst was probably the best way to get yourself caught, killed, and hung in someone's living room.

She shuddered just thinking about it.

"How about Sunset Port? It's not too far from here, and it's pretty much secluded."

"It's because of those scary rumors," Helena said, shivering. Ruse rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which she took instant comfort in.

"Rumors?" Nova turned to him, confused. "What type of rumors?"

"Like that the Port is haunted and full of spirits." Jim rolled his eyes. Obviously, he didn't take the rumors seriously.

"Oooh, sounds like fun!" Charlotte hopped to her feet. "Let's do that! We can allow li'l Nova to swim, and then go on a ghost hunt!" Before anyone could protest, she'd rushed off to the dorms, holding her ears and singing obnoxiously to drown out any negative words.

"She's so stubborn," Nova giggled, helping Jim to his feet. "But are you sure it's secluded? I just… if I got caught…"

Jim shrugged. "I'll just have to blast 'em down."

"Jim-"

"I'm kidding." He ruffled her hair. "No one's going to catch you. No one's gonna do a thing while I'm standing there. I mean, look at this thing!" He gestured to his leg. "This can, you know, break your head open or something. Hard stuff."

She laughed at his mild humor, extending her arm so he could use that as a crutch. He kept "forgetting" his crutch in his dorm, but she knew the truth. They could do mild couple-y things, and no one could really accuse them. She was helping a forgetful friend walk around. No harm in that.

And during Spring Break, maybe they could go from mild to fiery couple-y things?

Nova's cheeks burned at the thought, and she faced the ocean to hide her face.

They'd packed and left that night, triple checking they had all the money and supplies needed for a five day, four night trip.

"Helena," Stav complained, throwing his head back. "We've been over this list a billion times. Stop. Just, let's go. Get on the longboat."

Ruse and Nova had rented two longboats: one for their luggage and one for the people going. Ruse steered one and Jim the other. Nova wasn't comfortable with Jim steering a longboat- or doing anything strenuous- but he insisted that since he'd had the most experience out of all of them, that it made the most sense he steer one ship.

It took half a day to steer out there- they realized halfway there that leaving right before sundown was probably a bad idea- and instantly checked into their two rooms for a night's rest. They woke up mid-morning, Nova wide awake in the girls' room, throwing on her bathing suit.

"Nova, it's eleven in the morning," Helena groaned, glancing at the automatic clock with the holographic image of the time.

"I know! And NO ONE IS OUTSIDE. No one! I'm taking advantage of this!" Nova was about to leave when her friends called out to her.

"We want to see!"

Nova's eyes widened, confused. "See what?"

"YOU, stupid." Helena rolled her eyes. "We know how you don't like being looked at like a prized cut, but seriously, after all the stories, we really want to see."

Nova bit her lip, but a smile was ghosting on her lips. "OK. But be quiet!" The other two girls changed and ran to the beach, towels in hand.

They escaped to a more secluded area. As they lay down their towels and Nova was about to run off, they heard the faint sound of people.

"Oh no!" Nova grew nervous, then smiled brightly when she noticed one of them wobbling, and a familiar mess of brown hair. "Oh…"

Helena and Charlotte snickered at Nova's reddened cheeks, but she ignored them.

"Care if we join you ladies?" asked Stav in a falsely formal voice.

"Only if you race Nova," Helena challenged, eyeing them both.

Nova and Stav glanced at each other, then she shrugged. "You really don't have a chance, robot."

"OH IT IS ON." Stav took off the shirt he was wearing then ran to the shore. Nova joined him there looking back at Helena for a signal.

"Ready?"

They bent their knees.

"Set!"

Now they placed the balls of their feet deep into the sand.

"Go!"

Stav had the running advantage- as long as Nova had feet, she would be slower.

"I don't see Nova winning this one," Ruse said, already doubting her.

"You've seen nothing yet, friend. Watch." Jim pointed to the sunmaid.

And before their eyes, as she finally dove into the water, they watched the water around her turn a crystal white then shift around her body. The next time she came up, it was to gain an advantage by flipping ahead of Stav. Her white tail shone in the light, and stars clung to her loose hair like ribbons. Stav almost stopped in his tracks, but kept pushing forward.

"How far out are they going?" Charlotte asked, growing worried.

"There seems to be a boat out there-" Helena began, as if to mark the line. Then she repeated herself, the words sinking into all of their heads. "A BOAT."

They began waving their two friends down, hoping to get their attention. Stav stopped first, noticing their waving. Nova stopped right behind him, swimming up beside him. "What are they waving about?"

Stav used his eyes to magnify them. He initially believed they were cheering them on. Then he noticed their panicked behavior. He focused strictly on them and zoned in with his ears. "Boat?"

Nova gasped, turning around. The boat was coming for them quickly; no doubt they'd seen Nova's tail.

"I was so careless!" she cursed herself, swimming back toward the beach. "I have to go under for awhile. Tell them I'll be fine, but to go back to their rooms and NOT TO SAY A WORD."

"Aye aye!" Stav swam back to the beach, meeting up with them. When they asked questions about Nova's location, he reiterated what she'd told him to say.

"What if their poachers!" Charlotted said, holding hair nervously.

"Then, like Nova said, we don't say anything." Jim looked at each of his friends in the eye. "Not a single word." They nodded solemnly and headed back to their rooms. Jim waited a couple hours before hobbling back. The boat was still scanning the area. He heard a hissing noise not too far from where he was standing. He searched for the culprit then found her.

Nova had his herself in some foliage growing by the shore just left a ways. He wobbled over to her, leaning against a tree and looking as casual as possible.

"Why haven't you gotten out yet?"

"I can't start walking until I'm completely dry. I don't know how long that could take. And they could see me by then." She sighed. "I was silly and careless. I should have been looking more cautiously around me."

Jim plopped onto the ground and reached and hand out to her. She instantly took it. Her skin felt strange, rougher than usual. He knew it was her sunmaid skin, scales having dominated the other layer. She bopped her head out and then her torso, watching the boat's position to make sure she was completely safe.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm here. So you'll be fine." He bent down low enough to kiss her forehead.

When the boat looked like it was turning away, she hopped out of the water and took Jim's towel, trying to dry herself off quickly and efficiently. Her tail disappeared and her legs came back, her skin the soft texture he was used to.

"That was close…"

"It was indeed!" Jim and Nova whipped their heads around at the new, unfamiliar voice. A man in a scuba uniform approached them, a collar in one hand and a rope in the other. Anyone with eyes could see both were tampered with.

No doubt used for special sunmaid catching reasons.

"You could have actually gotten away! That would have been a shame, yes?" His voice was muffled by his scuba mask, but he spoke loudly enough that his words were still clear.

Nova stood up, helping Jim to his feet. He pulled out a flintlock and pointed it at their newest enemy. "I really don't want to have to use this; if it looks tampered with, I won't get a passing grade!"

"Then step aside, little mister, so I can take your friend here for a spin." One could hear the smirk under that horrible mask.

"Try it, 'little mister'," Jim mocked, readying his weapon for the first shot.

From behind, Nova felt someone put pressure on her neck, a weight suddenly on her shoulders. She shot her hands up, and someone grabbed hold of one, whirling her around to catch the other. Restraining the girl's hands was rather easy- she was too shocked to say or do anything about it. Finally, she let out a scream, but not to warn Jim of the new person who'd shown up.

A lightning hot pain ran through her whole body, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Nova!" he hollered, about to turn around when someone smacked him with something blunt in the back of the head. He instantly fell to the ground, face first, his head throbbing. His vision was too blurred and becoming blacker from the blow. Then everything around him went dark and disappeared.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: SHOUTOUT! Thanks GreekFreak101 for favoriting, following, and reviewing me! It means the whole world!

Interstellar Academy

11: Rayn

Nova only glared at her captures, unable to say a word. They had left Jim on the beach, which she expected. She was also glad of this; she hated the idea of him risking his life AGAIN to save her. There were powers and abilities Nova possessed no one knew about, and she wasn't about to reveal. No, if she did…

She shook her head.

It was too risky; she wasn't in control.

With a huff through the cloth on her mouth, she stared around, unable to recognize her surroundings. The boat's edge was rather high- or she was just short- and difficult to see over. She could see splashes of water and the sky above.

"Don't worry. You'll be A-OK when we land," promised a sailor darkly, his bright yellow eyes trying to see into her soul. She had to look away.

They finally arrived at their destination- she assumed- and didn't struggle as they placed a rag over her eyes and shoved her forward. Though she was apprehensive, if she could get an idea of where she was and somehow get a signal out, she could be rescued in no time.

They pushed and shoved her this way and that, until finally it stopped. No warning, no anything. She tripped over herself, convinced they still wanted her to walk. They simply laughed at her clumsiness, not bothering to help her up. She pushed herself to her feet with her knee and stood still, waiting for the next course of action.

Her heart has beat this quickly before- but only one thing (or person, rather) could cause such a heartbeat. Panic had never struck her for reasons other than HIM.

It was so frightening she could cry.

They removed her blindfold. Her eyes were struck by a blind light. As her eyes focused, she noticed the room was lit only by a single light bulb. Below it was a tank.

She wiggled backwards, wanting to get away. She didn't want to be some show to these… these cretins! Someone threw her onto her feet, two men grabbing her by each leg and one from her underarms. She struggled, but it was no use. They tossed her into the tank, hands still tied. She instantly transformed, and she watched the animalistic gazes of her kidnappers.

Finally, after gawking and poking for a couple hours, they left, triumphant in their catch. She head vague discussions of what they would do to her: prize, money and fame were the top three words used. When she was alone, she began crying, uncaring of the crystals falling to the bottom of the tank. They could have them.

They would want to know where more were. They would hunt her family. They would start an army of their own. They would take over everything she ever loved. They would rid of her once she could no longer offer services.

Someone came back, and she shied toward the back of the tank, staring widely at the boy who'd returned.

He had dirty blond, shaggy hair with bangs that consistently fell into his green eyes. He only watched her, as if calculation, sometimes looking above and around her, pressing a pale hands to the glass. She stared at him warily, unsure of his next move. Finally, he found a chair off to the side in which she couldn't see- the bulb's light wasn't that strong- and brought it to the tank. She swam around frantically, trying to stay on the move, so he couldn't touch her.

"Come up here, please."

His voice was rather deep, but held compassion. Nova knew she shouldn't have surfaced, but something inside her compelled her to. She peeked her head up, looking pleadingly at the boy. He reached out gently and took the rag off her mouth.

She breathed in heavily from her mouth, gulping in as much air as possible. Then she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you helping me?"

"Because my friends are in the wrong; anyone with eyes could see that." He gestured for her to turn around, and she did. He cut the ropes off her wrist, then jumped down and came back with a couple towels. "I'll help you out and dry off."

It took a while, but soon she had her legs back.

"What are they planning on doing with me?"

"They want information from you," the boy filled in, taking a different way out than the others did. He motioned for her to follow, and she did. "They want to find more of you. Most of them have searched their entire lives to find your kind. My father is one of them."

"I see." She was correct in her theory then. "I don't want you going against your father."

"I've been doing it for years anyway," said the boy, rolling his eyes at her with a smirk before continuing forward. "What were you doing on the Island anyway? Didn't you know that's a frequent fishing spot."

"I do now," Nova grumbled, crossing her arms. "My boy- er my friend, he was convinced no one really traveled there."

"Oh? Well, he's not really wrong. Not particularly right either." The boy shrugged. "By the way, I'm Rayn."

"Nova." The girl scratched her head, then said. "Thanks for doing this. I know you're making a giant risk by doing it."

"Don't mention it." He then faced her darkly. "Seriously, don't."

She nodded quickly in promise and continued following him a few more minutes. Finally, she could see light.

Sunlight; she would recognize those rays anywhere.

"We're here." Rayn pulled out a set of keys and unlocked a gate, then another as they walked on. "I'm going to find a longboat then take you back to the Island."

Nova nodded, waiting inside the entrance of the gate for him to return. When he finally did, he gestured her rush on, the longboat awaiting just beyond the shore. They hopped in, but just as they were about to leave, someone shot at the boat, killing the engine.

"BLAST IT!" Rayn cursed, glaring at the fire's target. His father. "Dad, this is wrong! Just let her go!"

"No real son of mine would ever go against his father! NO REAL SON EVER!" The man fired at them again. Both of them dove into the water, Nova changing and grabbing Rayn. Then she swam in a general direction, just wanting to escape the attacks upon them. The sun set once she found a place to hide- a small cove quite a bit a ways from where they started.

Having dried off, Nova joined Rayn inside the cove, holding her knees to her chest and staring at the fire he'd built aimlessly.

"I'm so sorry, Rayn," she said softly.

"He's been saying stuff like that for years, Nova; don't apologize. It's really not your fault."

She only nodded, scratching behind her head and yawning.

"It's late. Why don't you sleep?"

Nova nodded again, making a small mound to rest her head on in the sand and laying down, her back to Rayn.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Rayn guessed, scooting close.

"I just… miss someone. And I wish they were here. He always had answer to everything…"

"You're boy- er friend?" Anyone could hear the smile in Rayn's question.

Nova brushed the sand from her hair and sat up fully again, facing him sadly. "Yes. We… have a complicated relationship. But even so, we work so hard to protect each other. He had gotten injured severely because I didn't rescue him in time, like is our custom, if you would so like to call it. And now he cannot come and rescue me. I messed up for him, for my friends by putting them in so much danger, for you…"

"Quit blaming yourself for everything." Rayn now sat beside Nova and wrapped an arm around her; she was shockingly cold. Though his jacket was still a bit damp, it had dried quite a lot by the fire. He took it off and wrapped it around her shoulders. She didn't protest, but shivered appreciatively. She rested her head on his shoulders and sighed. "Nova, I know that things are hard. I wish I was faster in the escape, it was sure-fire-"

"No, your plan was perfect, Rayn." She looked up at him gratefully, green eyes shimmering in the firelight. "Honestly, I would be Goddess-knows-where by now if you hadn't rescued me."

Rayn chuckled and rubbed his hands against her arm, mostly in an attempt to warm her up, if only a little bit. He pushed her closer to the fire, which brought back memories of the first night at the Academy, and caused her to flinch.

"Trust in me," he said softly.

With that, she finally passed out.

A/N: This was horrible because there wasn't a lot of Jim-action, but mostly mentions of Jim. But does Nova have a new love interest, hmm? ;) Keep reading please, and thanks to all my supporters!

And if I'm making Nova look out to be a whore, I'm sorry! But you also have to take into consideration she's 16 and her feelings fluctuate like any teenager!


	12. Chapter 12

Interstellar Academy

12: Rescue

Nova and Rayn hid out for a couple days. During this time, they decided to share some secrets about themselves that they wouldn't have otherwise told anyone. Nova had even opened up to secrets she would never tell Jim. This made her feel extremely guilty, but what else was she supposed to do?

It was Rayn he turned into an open book first. He'd talked about his severing relationship with his dad, and how it'd been going on for a few years now. "Now that I'm 17, my father expects me to take up the family- or rather, just his- dream and capture and use sunmaids. I never found this 'hobby' of his appealing, but immoral." He had the look of remorse on his face, like feeling opposite his father was absolutely, positively wrong.

"That means you're a kinder, more compassionate person than he is. You're a nice person, Rayn. That's nothing to feel bad about." Nova gave him a small, encouraging smile.

He returned it. "I guess. What about you and your parents? I hope you have a better relationship than me with mine."

"It's… a relationship." She confessed to be the princess of Solara, to her and her twin's "competition" to be heir- though it was obvious who would take the throne.

"Are you just not powerful enough? Or do you not want it?" Rayn asked, interested.

"My father finds me too powerful, actually." She bit her lip. This was the secret she knew she should keep to herself- and Jim, eventually- but felt so comfortable right then she didn't care anymore. "I'm considered the most powerful sunmaid across the galaxy."

Rayn raised his eyebrows, in interest. "How so?"

She huffed, frustrated at how she would explain this to him. "My powers match that of a laser cannon… times thousands."

Rayn let this set in. Then he gasped. "Wow."

"Y-yeah. I mean, it seems like a big deal, but I've been able to control. If I don't, I could tear galaxies and destroy planets and… it's just ugly. I hate it." She rested her cheek on her knee. "I hate feeling so limited because of it. One would think that having so much power would bring so much joy, and it doesn't. It only brings suffering. People expect more out of you. People expect the best. I'm considered a genius on my planet, alongside powerful. I'm the ultimate ruler." She blushed at her rambling. "Sorry."

"Hey, no, don't be. I like listening to you talk." Rayn sighed. "We do need a way to get outta here though. Any ideas?"

Nova shrugged. "You would have more of a clue than me; I'm not from here. Obviously."

"Right. What about your friend? The one who solves problems all the time?"

"He's… I don't know. With his injury, I don't want him coming after me but-"

There was a rumbling going on outside. It shook the cove, pebbles and small rocks falling around them. Rayn grabbed Nova's hand and helped her outside, pushing passed the foliage.

"JIM!" Nova said happily. The boy scanned the area for the person who called out to him. Nova rushed out and waved her arms frantically, and he maneuvered the longboat close to her. She ran to the boat and wrapped her arms happily around his neck. "I knew you'd find me!"

Jim chuckled then stiffened as his eyes looked at the boy who'd been with his friend. "Uh… the guy?"

Nova let go and looked back at Rayn. "He's Rayn. His father is the one who captured me." She pressed a hand to his shoulder when he moved, as if he was going to attack the other boy. "No, he helped me escape. He's the reason I'm no where near those idiots right now."

Jim still eyed him carefully, but nodded his approval. "Thanks. For keeping her safe."

"A man's gotta do." He looked to his other two companions- a silver robot and an alien with human features save for his slightly pointed ears and green skin, his eyes round and black. "Ah, hello."

They simply waved, the moment growing awkward.

"We gotta go back, though," Nova said, looking at a now shocked Jim.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Why would you want to go back?" Rayn interrupted, pressing a hand to his head. "It was necklace."

"It's a map. To my planet." She faced Jim seriously. "What if they found it? If they capture another of my kind, they'd figure out any sunmaid can open it. They want to find my planet. Take a whole army there, Jim. I don't want to even think what the result of that would be."

Jim obviously didn't approve of this idea, but knew she needed to in order to protect her entire race.

"Fine. But we have to move fast."

The four of them hopped into the longboat and sailed away, hovering way above the Island, wanting to be out of sight of those blasted pirates.

"There! That's their hide out," Rayn pointed out, gesturing for Jim to sail on down. He didn't like taking orders from this new kid, but he was the only one who knew the Island heavily.

They snuck in the way Rayn and Nova had escaped, the tunnels not even tampered with, like they'd scoped this area.

"Rayn," Nova spoke up quietly, "Are you the only one who knows of this area?"

"Yep," Rayn answered simply, giving her no explanation.

Finally, they reached the room they'd kept Nova in, the tank now shattered to pieces and water marks all over the concrete floor. Nova was hesitant in going back in, but knew she had. She bent down and carefully searched through the glass.

"This isn't getting me anywhere," she grumbled.

"The shards are too sharp," Stav said, the glass not having an effect on him.

Nova's hand sparked, scales covering it. She did the same to other. Then she began searching more vigorously. Finally, right by the broken tank was the necklace. It was a small blue shell with her initials in elegant cursive. Wiping it carefully on her shirt, she placed it over her head and on her shoulders, where it belonged.

"I know ya'd come back," said a familiar, evil voice. They whipped their heads around to face a man with dirty blond hair like Rayn's, though is features were much older and more tired.

"Dad, look. Just let 'em go. This fight is pointless-"

"Don't talk to me, heathen!" his dad roared, shocking them all. What father referred to their own son like that?

Jim, who had a rough spot where fathers go, crunched his fist angrily the man.

"Come here, little sunmaid. You don't want your precious friends and my BETRAYING son to get hurt, do you?" The man was feeding on her emotions, mainly her guilt. Jim knew enough about Nova to realize her next move before she made it.

He held a hand out, keeping her from moving.

"We can handle ourselves, thanks," Jim growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh?" The man looked between Jim and Nova several times before the story sunk in for him. "I see what's going on here. The sumaid's gotta little boyfriend? How sweet. Well, boyfriend, there are other fish in the sea, if you know what I mean!" The man laughed at his poorly judged joke, no one else but the two lackeys he'd brought along laughing with him.

Jim only cringed, growing frustrated and angry with this game. He slowly pulled a flintlock from his back pocket and fired, hitting the bigger lackey. The man flew back, shocked and hurt by the blast. Stav and Ruse also pulled out their weapons, Stav turning his arm into a gun, Ruse holding a flintlock of his own.

"Alright, hold on. Hold your fire now." Rayn's father stepped forward, and Stav shot a warning blast at him. The man stopped in his tracks. "We don't need to hurt anyone now, do we?"

"I hope not," Rayn muttered. Nova glanced at him. He looked pained by this whole situation.

This was his father. The man was messed up, angry, and a gigantic jerk, but the man raised this boy. Of course he'd feel an ounce of guilt about all this.

"Hold on," Nova said, forcing Jim to lower his firearm.

"Nova, don't-"

"I'm not," she said, looking at him solemnly. "But you're right, we don't. So let us all go. All of us."

"After all the trouble I went to look for your kind!" the man boomed, stomping one foot irritably. "I spent my entire life, left my own wife, abandoned all responsibility because for me, this was living. This was what life meant!" He punched his standing lackey in the gut, causing him to double over. "I HAVE GONE THROUGH TOO MUCH LITTLE GIRL!" His eyes were an angry red now, and his shape began to change. His arms grew more muscle, and through his shirt came another set of arms. He grew twice his original size and had to bend over menacingly just so he wouldn't completely go through the roof.

"Why?" she whispered to herself. "Why do I bother being a negotiator, really?"

Jim grabbed her hand and switched his flintlock out for a pocket knife. He lunged toward their enemy and pressed the knife into his ankle. The beast growled loudly, the entire room shaking. "Come on!" He led the way out of the room, pulling out his gun once more. They ran through the large building, which now seemed never-ending while being chased, and out through the tunnels, their longboat destroyed.

"Oh no!" Nova squeezed Jim's hand, who held hers just as tightly.

"CRAP!" Ruse cursed. "Now I'm not getting my deposit back."

"Yoo hoo!" they heard above them, a smile crossing over Ruse's face.

"Ah, sis, I knew you'd come through for us!"

"You know me: perfect timing." She winked and motioned for Helena to lower the longboat. They gathered inside, Helena and Charlotte confused by the newcomer, but not questioning it. "Take her away, girlfriend!"

"I told you not to call me that!" But Lena obeyed, pressing the lever and flying away.

Now they were back at the Academy, including Rayn.

"Do you want some help getting home?" Nova asked him. They'd gotten a long-needed shower and she was dressed in fresh pajamas, her hair in a loose ponytail that ran down her back. "I know you want to get back to your dad."

They sat in the girls' lounge inside the dorms, drinking some type of bitter, warm beverage that almost resembled tea. The television was on, but no one was watching it.

"Nah. I mean, I do want to, but I wanna let things calm down."

"Do you think they followed us?" Ruse asked, bringing up the question they'd been avoiding.

Everyone was contemplative awhile before Nova finally said, "No. I strongly believe they didn't. No offense, but I don't find your father that strategic."

"He's not," Rayn said, shrugging. "He wanted me to be the brains behind everything." Everyone raised defensive eyebrows at him. "I obviously wasn't part of that last bit. It didn't work, right?"

This caused a short round of giggles.

They went to bed, Nova and Jim finally left alone like they wanted.

"Sorry our little vacation didn't turn out as you wanted," she said quietly, holding her glass though now her drink had gone cold.

Jim chuckled, taking the mug from her hand and setting it on the coffee table, then he leaned close to her, not close enough that anyone would suspect anything, but close enough that only she could hear him. Looking her dead in the eye, he said, "It wasn't ruined, Nova. It was just another adventure. When I'm with you, honestly, there's no such thing as boring."

"Strange," said Nova, smiling sweetly. "I've always thought the same of you."

They remained staring at each other, their eyes searching the other's for something they wouldn't dare say. Then the clock struck midnight and they were shocked out of their stupor. Her face was a bright red, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"We're complicated," Jim said simply.

"I know," Nova answered shortly.

"I better get to bed." He waved good-bye before hobbling away, heading back to his dorm.

As he reached his door, a large figure stood beside it, smoking a cigarette. His initial thought was it had to be Rayn's father. He pulled out his flintlock and pointed it.

"Hey, hey, Jimbo!" The man hopped into the light, a familiar, large smile on his face. "Still don't know how to pick your fights, do ya?"

"Silver?"

A/N: OMG TWISTATION. :ooooo I was waiting to bring Silver back. And how inopportune for Jim: his leg is still busted up. What a shame ;P


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I'm not gonna lie: this chapter is horribly written. I had to push passed my writer's block, which meant shoving through this chapter. Now the story is rebuilding itself in my head. So please just read it, get through it like I did. It'll get better.

Interstellar Academy

13: Silver

"I hope you don't mind, Jimbo, but I snuck into your room for little Morphy here." Morph was hiding under John Silver's hat, resting on the man's warm bandana.

"Uh, as long as my roommates didn't see you," Jim said in a low voice. "But what are you doing here? Is everything OK?"

Silver's bright smile dimmed, replaced by a grimace. "Oh, lad. Not in the slightest, unfortunately. But we'll have to continue this conversation elsewhere. A man's gotta sleep. And it looks like you can use all the rest you can get." Silver referred to Jim's broken leg.

"Well, I guess. I mean, I get the cast taken off right before school lets out so. I'm not worried about it." Jim shrugged, then pulled out his key, about to unlock the door. "Are you gonna be staying for awhile?"

Jim's relationship with Silver was something rocky. In fact, it was one of those up-down-up type of things. They left off on "up" so he assumed they were on pretty good terms. Still, Jim couldn't help but feel his defenses rise.

"Yep. Until you're all better, I guess. Though I'm goin' to stay low profile, ya know, for the whole 'avoid-getting-arrested-because-there's-a-warrant-on-my-head' deal."

Jim nodded, remembering that Silver was still on the run. It was well deserved- he plotted a mutiny, placed the lives of an entire crew of people in danger, threatened the lives of him and his friends Dr. Doppler and Amelia, and then ran off before being tried. He was in deep doo-doo.

"Right. Well, I'll see you around then." Before Jim could open the door, someone had pulled him from behind to hug him. Jim obliged, Silver's warmth and girth familiar and loving. He looked up, pushing away slowly. "I've missed you."

"Aye, and me too, lad." The cyborg winked and hobbled away, Morph flying excitedly around him.

Jim met up with Nova the next day, sending her message that it was urgent. She sat in the courtyard, alongside the fountain, breaking up bread and handing out to the birds. She looked a lot more rested than he did; he couldn't bring himself to sleep knowing Silver was so close by. He was just so excited.

"Jim?" Nova asked slowly, her eyebrow going up on curiosity and worry. "Is… everything OK?"

"Well, yes and no." She didn't say anything to that, only stared in confusion. "Silver's here."

Instantly, Nova turned this way and that, searching for the cyborg. "What, where?"

"Not HERE, in town."

"Since WHEN?" He'd captured her attention.

Jim knew Nova had mixed feelings about Silver. She cared for him because Jim did, but beyond that, she didn't like him. He DID point a gun to her face. Nobody would want anything to do with someone who did that to them.

"Last night, I'm assuming. That's the first I'd seen him."

Nova sighed, looking away. Then she said, looking at him soberly, "Did he say what he wanted?"

"No. Not yet."

There was an awkward silence. Jim knew what she was doing: making assumptions. 'He's going away. I won't see him for months, maybe even longer. What if something happens? What if he gets really hurt? What if he's worse off than that?' Jim rested a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look at him.

"It's going to be alright, Nova. You have to trust in that."

"I trust in YOU, Jim. But that's the extent of it." She smiled- though it turned more into a grimace.

"Then that's how you know it's going to be OK. It's me we're talking about." That caused her to laugh. "I'm not going anywhere without you, Nova."

Her heart stopped at the confession, and she gazed into his eyes for any sign he wasn't telling the whole truth. But he was.

"I think if Silver wanted me involved, he would have said so. Or come found me."

"And? If he wants to drag me along anywhere, my stipulation is I have you alongside me."

"And if the Doctor or Captain found out? You're dealing with a fugitive, Jim."

"They can come along!" Jim said, his eyes glowing. He believed that the old adventure they once had would come alive again.

"Jim, Amelia is pregnant. She's not going anywhere. Neither is Dr. Doppler."

"Then it looks like it's just the three of us."

Nova still stared at him with disproval.

"What, Nova?"

"I don't want to go along with him. I know you love him, and I respect that because it's YOU, but I can't bring myself to do anything for him. Even if in the end it would be for you. I'm sorry." She squeezed his shoulder, stood up and walked off. He watched her leave, then huffed, folding his arms.

How frustrating. He believed that she was missing adventure just as much as he was. But after all they'd been through in the entire year they'd been here, he could also see where she'd want a break from excitement. That, and, as it was said before: Silver put a gun to her head.

He stood up and walked toward the coast, keeping it slow and steady; he'd gotten up quickly and was reminded of his broken bone. He couldn't wait to get the blasted cast off his leg. It was a menace and a constant hindrance.

The day the earthquake showed up, he'd skipped class to play more basketball. He couldn't focus knowing just how popular Nova hadn't gotten. And worst still- Stav had made a move. First Roger then his best friend? It felt like a fate worse than death, if she'd accepted him. But, thankfully, she hadn't, confessing for the umpteenth time how she felt about Jim.

Even that didn't comfort him enough. He needed something physical, but because of Roger, that wouldn't be allowed. Though she'd said the words, the action of showing someone how much you love them meant more to Jim than anything. Seeing her hovering over him, keeping him safe from falling rubble, keeping him company. All that was the real confirmation needed to still his worrying heart.

Now they had a newcomer who'd rescued Nova before Jim even had a chance.

"Thinkin' about yer little girlfriend, are ya?" Silver had surprised him, standing against a strong palm tree and eating a purp.

"Ah, she's… she's not my girlfriend."

This news actually shocked the old pirate. "Not your girlfriend? What are you two callin' yourselves then?"

"Friends."

It sunk in then. "I see. Sorry lad."

"It's just some harassment issues. It'll be taken care of." Jim plopped onto the ground, wanting desperately to change the subject. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Silver smiled. "I got an idea to get across to ya. Are you in?"

Jim nodded eagerly. Maybe some time away would do both of them some good- and a Jim/Silver adventure sounded like the perfect remedy.

"I found this a few days ago." Silver reached into his pocket, pulling out an empty hand. Morph appeared from his other one, holding a slam triangle with weird inscriptions embedded into it. It reminded Jim of Flint's map, and he couldn't wait to hear where this was going. "It's a few months voyage. I believe if we leave right after your schoolin' ends, we'll be back before it starts up again. If all goes according to plan."

Jim chuckled. "When does that happen?"

Silver ruffled the boy's hair, the brown strands falling out of their ponytail. "You've grown up in that tiny head o' yers, didn't ya lad?"

Jim gathered his hair, now falling between his shoulder blades and tied the ponytail up again. "I guess you could say that. Age does that to you. But you would know better than me."

The pirate gave the boy a playful punch before continuing. "From what I understand, it belonged to a queen who hid a whole trove of treasure from her cheating king out of spite. It's worth a gigantic fortune. It would put you down in history, boy."

Jim smiled brightly. "I'm in, trust me."

"Glad to hear it, lad!"

"Hey, Jim, I have a question!"

It was Rayn's voice, the very last person Jim honestly wanted to see. He turned, panicked, to his big pirate friend. "You gotta hide."

"You're afraid of that kid?"

"N-no, it's not that, it's you're a fugitive, and he may know about your bounty."

"Good point." In an attempt to hide, Silver ducked down behind some foliage, Morph playing around just above his head before the man cupped him and pulled him down.

"Jim?" Rayn ran up beside Jim, confused and curious. "Were you… talking to yourself?"

Jim speared him a look before shaking his head. "What do you need, Rayn?"

"It's about Nova."

Great. Here we go. Jealousy was creeping its ugly, green head. "Yes?"

"What's her brother's name?"

That question took him by surprise, but Jim obliged. "Cassie. Short for Casanova."

"Nova isn't her real name. I knew it." Rayn pressed a hand to his head.

"Well, no. It's not." Where has this kid been? "It's 'Supernova'. And why does that matter?"

"Because of something she told me while we were hiding-" And then he stopped talking and covered his mouth, as if he knew he'd said too much.

"Rayn…" Jim warned him. "What did Nova say?"

Rayn shook his head. "It just reminded me of someone else. And I remembered her vaguely mentioning a brother. Casanova. He'd talked about his twin, though only briefly."

"Where are you going with this, Rayn?" Jim was growing impatient with the boy's constant whirling around.

"I'm saying that the next time Nova plans on going home, I HAVE to go with her."

Jim cut him another look, this time full of pure malice. "I don't think that's wise."

"Oh yes it is. Because Casanova and I have a score to settle and-" Before he could finish, the bushes behind him sneezed. He turned around on his heel and glared at the brush. "Uh… bless you?"

The bush sniffled and muttered its gratitude, followed by a curse. "Blast it! I've ruined my cover." When Silver emerged from the bushes and stepped over them, it took everything Jim had not to laugh at the other boy's expression. He looked utterly terrified.

"A friend of yours, Jimbo?"

"'Jimbo'?" Rayn repeated, sucking in his lips to avoid bursting into giggles.

"Not… really. He's Nova's friend."

"John Silver at yer service," said the pirate, extending his cyborg arm. Again, the boy jumped. "Oh, don't worry about this hunk o' hardware. Done me good, Jim'll tell you about it later."

"Why were you hiding in the bushes?" asked Rayn.

"Well we were talkin' about uh-" Morph popped out of Silver's pocket, the triangular map in his mouth.

"Hey, that looks like my grandmother's map." Rayn snatched it from the pink blob, shocking and angering the larger pirate. "HEY THIS IS MY GRANDMOTHER'S MAP!" He hid the map behind his back and turned to face them, his face red with frustration. "Where did you get this?"

"Found it, you little twerp! Now hand it back, if you know what's good for ya!"

"Oh no. I don't think so." Rayn felt Morph playing around with his fingers, trying to grab the map back, but he simply moved away, waving the map toward the ocean. "Either take me on whatever treasure hunt you're planning, or I toss this map into the ocean. And I got one heck of an arm."

Jim growled, facing Silver. The man at first looked adamant on just killing the kid. Then his face sagged, and he nodded. "Fine."

"What?"

"I said 'fine', Jimbo. We can't argue with him. It's rightfully his."

Rayn and Jim had a stare-off before finally Jim caved. "OK. Fine. But we call the shots here, you got it?"

Rayn, excited, tossed the map back. "Sounds like a plan to me!"


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you, trekkieforeva! Your review gave me a little strength! I'm glad you like my story; I enjoy writing it for viewers just like you, THANK YOU!

Interstellar Academy

14: Summer

For the rest of the year, Jim did nothing but focus on school- and avoid Nova. He knew that the second they spoke, he would admit to everything- including the treasure hunt that Rayn had decided to tag along with. Now, his solar surfer tech classmate and partner, Leslie, scooted into him playfully, eying him curiously.

"You know, Hawkins, you've been awfully quiet. What's up?"

Jim wasn't going lie to himself and say he hadn't really looked at Leslie. She was a human, like him, which brought a little stability into his life; sure, he loved all the strange creatures who'd blessed his life, but liked some familiarity. She had bright red hair that hung around her shoulders and curled toward her face at the ends, her blue eyes contrasting brightly against their fiery strands. Freckles scattered along her face more fiercely than that of Nova's; he didn't know what was with him and freckles, but he loved them on a girl. She wore reading glasses during class, which made her face smaller and cuter.

"Just… summer. I don't know how my vacation will go."

"Is Nova gonna be with you?" His expression told her his answer. "Ah. I'm sorry. There's always next year."

"Yeah, I guess."

"It's been a year, right? Since that whole mess?"

He paused in his train of thought, thinking back. "Yeah. Actually, it has been."

"Why not before summer vacation, really show how Nova makes you feel. It'll keep things in perspective, and you'll probably feel better in the end."

"I haven't spoken to her much in two months. I've been kinda avoiding her."

"Aw, Jim…" Leslie tilted her head disapprovingly, her red bangs falling over her left eye. "That's not even cool."

"I know. It's wrong. But I can't bring myself to face her."

Leslie raised an eyebrow. "Is it that stupid Roger kid? I heard he's gonna be expelled after this year anyway. So there's no problem there." When he didn't reply, she made another guess. "Is it Rayn? Come on, he's in his twenties, he's not going to be interested in Nova like that."

Jim cut her a look, which made her flinch, but she tried to remain calm.

"You know that Nova really cares about only you. Just gotta tell her."

He sighed. "Our relationship is so complicated though."

The bell rang, and he packed his things to leave.

"I just wish I could be in a relationship with someone and not feel like hiding all the time, you know?"

Leslie placed a reassuring hand on his, which made him look at her. She took off her glasses and tucked them away, smiling at him with her mouth and her eyes now. "Look, you'll do whatever makes you happy in the end. Quit worrying so much; you're young. Just go with the flow."

With that, and a long glance back, Leslie left.

Nova wasn't at their usual lunch table when Jim arrived. He casted a look toward Charlotte and Helena, but they only shrugged. Twenty minutes in, Nova came huffing up, her cheeks a flaming red.

"Nova, you look like you narrowly escaped death," Ruse noted.

"YOU GUYS DIDN'T HEAR!" She shoved herself between Stav and Helena, resting her head on the pink alien's shoulder. "Oh my goodness."

"What?" asked Charlotte urgently. She absolutely loved gossip.

Nova took in a few more gulps of air before starting. "It was Roger and Rayn! I've never- can people really- anyway, I guess someone told Rayn about how Roger treated me, and how he'd pretty much gone unpunished about it. It really made Rayn upset, and he approached me about it and asked why I hadn't said anything. I just- when I was put on the spot, I didn't know what to say, which seemed to frustrate him more. He asked me what Roger looked like, and the look in his EYES- THEY CHANGED!" She shook her head, holding her hair, as if the image of the blond man's face morphing scarred her brain. "They went from blue to this horrible red. Out of panic, I pointed Roger out and then Rayn ATTACKED him. I didn't even realize that someone could FLY like that!" She looked each member of the group in the eye, stopping on Jim. "Rayn completely changed. He was this monstrous… thing. Like out of a horror movie…"

"Like his dad." Jim hadn't meant to ask it, but really state it.

"That, I could see," Ruse said, remembering back to Sunset Port.

"It took four- FOUR- teachers to separate them. And Roger- oh my gosh." She covered her face. "There was blood, so much of it. They thought they were gonna lose him- I PANICKED. I wasn't thinking, really, but when the emergency personnel went to handle Rayn a moment, I went over to Roger and- and I-" She didn't know how to explain it without sounding stupid. "I cried. It was just one tear, but it healed him! And when the people turned around and saw me hovering over him, and how he wasn't scarred up, they were all so SHOCKED. Thankfully, I don't think any of them realize it was my fault…"

"Yet," Jim said harshly, cutting her a disapproving gaze.

"I know. It was stupid, but I just couldn't let him DIE. That feeling just isn't in me…"

Great. The man who'd abused and consistently flaunted her like some dog received more compassion from the girl he loved than Jim did. This broke his heart completely.

Leslie was right, he should do whatever made him happy.

After school, Jim hunted Leslie down, recognizing her red hair in a crowd anywhere. She was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, her scientology book glued to her face. He sat next to her, remaining quiet in the hopes she'd notice and become shocked. When she peeked over, smiling, he knew the jig was up.

"Oh well, I tried."

"That you did." She set her book down. "What's up?"

"I decided to take your advice. I'm going to do whatever makes me happy."

"Oh, that's great news, Jim!" She punched his shoulder, giggling. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Well, I could start off with this." He leaned over then, suddenly, and pressed his lips lightly against hers. He waited for some type of rejection, but instead she tilted her head so she could easily kiss back. It didn't last long, but it lasted long enough.

"Thought so." His eyes twinkled with mischief.

"How did you know?"

"I just did." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "Definitely a good step forward."

Her face had turned deep red, almost matching her hair. She looked up at him shyly. "What about Nova?"

"What about her?" He arched an eyebrow, not really wanting to talk about his ex. "Leslie, you make me happy. You honestly do."

It was sudden, but he figured that being with Leslie would be less complicated than being with Nova. For one, Leslie was just some human from his home planet, though they lived on opposing sides. She wasn't a princess of an entire planet. She didn't have many secrets to hide- like that she couldn't swim or hug pink morphing creatures in case people find out she's a "mythical" creature. Though Leslie was beautiful, she didn't have boys- and men- fawning over her, and he didn't have to fight for BOTH of their lives to stay together.

And lastly, he didn't feel like a second choice with Leslie.

Nova was searching endlessly for Jim; she hated him being so upset with her. He was sincerely the last person she wanted mad at her. Upon finding him, she also discovered him in the middle of a… moment.

Her heart shattered at the sight.

He was kissing someone else.

They weren't officially together; how could you consider yourself taken by someone if they hardly talked to you? However, the image replayed in her head, even after they pulled apart to smile at each other. He didn't love her anymore. He didn't want to be with her anymore. That's why he was being so sneaky the past two months: he was meeting up with someone else. He did say he would consider moving on if she did; and she had. She'd initiated everything when she and Stav were kind of talking at the beginning of the semester.

She turned on her heel, all intention to speak with Jim lost, and ran back to her dorm, holding her face. When she arrived there, she slammed the door shut and plopped onto her bed, sobbing.

She'd never cried like this. It was painful yet relieving to let everything out in loud, obnoxious noises and piles upon piles of tears. Her friends didn't say anything; did they know? At any rate, they simply sat beside her and comforted her. When her fit ended, she rolled over onto her back, sat up, and snuggled into Charlotte, keeping hold of Helena's hand tightly.

"I am such an idiot. To ever believe I could be in a relationship was stupid; and to believe Jim would wait for me is stupid. He deserves more than me; I told him that. He told me otherwise. And I believed him. Freaking. Stupid."

They didn't argue with her, and she didn't want them to. She just wanted to be held like a toddler after a nightmare until she fell asleep. She dreamt of Treasure Planet. She dreamt of the first time she and Jim met- when he'd rescued her for the first time years ago. She dreamt of all the innocence and bliss she felt when being with him on their adventure. She then had a nightmare: it wasn't her being rescued, being blissfully happy, but Leslie Paris, the girl who'd kissed him.

She woke up screaming into her pillow, then proceeded to cry once more.

Needless to say, she didn't sleep very well that night.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: for the entirety of Jim's voyage with Rayn and Silver (which will be brief; I'm not good at action stuff) I'm going to put it into BREAKS. That way, no one will consider this part of the actual story; it's just a side thing I thought would be fun. I've missed Silver :c

Interstellar Academy

15: BREAK 1

Jim packed his belongings, or at least the ones he knew he'd needed, and they set out for another treasure hunt. Though initially Jim was apprehensive about bringing Rayn along, after hearing him tear Roger to shreds, he'd grown to respect him.

"She healed him," Rayn had said when they started to discuss the incident. "I was in for the KILL, Jim. And she healed him."

"I know," Jim said solemnly.

"Ladies work strangely like that, boys." Silver maneuvered the tiny ship he'd stolen, the deck below large enough for only he to sleep in. The boys didn't mind; Jim preferred to sleep under the stars anyway, though they reminded him of only one thing.

Or rather, one person.

"Is that why you don't deal with 'em, Silver?" Jim inquired, focusing on their conversation so as to not get distracted.

"No, lad! It's cuz I'm ugly as a tug-butt!" the old pirate laughed.

"Can't argue with that logic," Rayn said, rolling his eyes. The men laughed briefly before turning back to the map.

"Where to now?"

"We head west, one-seven-six-seven," Jim instructed, pointing in the direction they should go.

"Right-o." Silver turned the hunk-o-junk accordingly, then pressed a few buttons and started heading down below. "If you two need me, don't; I need a rest from you young folk." With that, the man was gone.

"He's a pretty neat dude, if not a little…" Rayn twirled a finger beside his temple.

"Yeah, but he really does know what he's doing."

They were quiet awhile, watching space travel around them. Then Rayn said, "So, Leslie Paris. That's an awful random girl to be interested in."

"A lot of people said that, actually. I don't find it so random, though. I'm quite happy, actually."

"Hey, I'm glad to hear it!" Rayn smiled widely at him. "Everyone deserves all the happiness they could get. It's just, no offense against Leslie, I couldn't imagine you with anyone but Nova."

Jim sighed, closing his eyes and learning his head back. "Yeah. Me neither." They were silent for a moment, then Jim continued. "It was just too complicated. I didn't like feeling so…"

"… in love?" Rayn tried, getting a glare from the younger boy. "That's what it feels like. I've only experienced it once before, but I know when a boy's in love. And you're not in love with Leslie by any means." Rayn added as an after-thought, "Jim, do you even LIKE Leslie like that?"

Jim looked away, huffing. "Is that any of your business?"

"Thought so." Rayn sighed. "Look, I'm not going to tell you how to run your life; whatever works for Jim Hawkins, OK? But I feel like you shouldn't be with Leslie unless you felt something real toward her. I think you're confusing her obvious affections for her as your own; if it worked that way, love would be even MORE complicated."

Jim stayed silent through Rayn's rant, though the boy knew he was right.

"If you're happy, that's fine. But really think about what you're doing." Rayn stretched, standing up slowly and heading over to his hammock. "I'm going to sleep. Coming with?"

"Nah," Jim said softly. "Think I'm gonna just stick around here awhile."

Rayn shrugged, hoping his message hit home, and went to sleep.

Jim stared at the stars, and he could only see one thing- sunmaids. Sunmaids with long hair that sometimes fell into their faces, which made them frustrated. Sunmaids with bright, big eyes that could outshine the stars they created. Sunmaids with smiles large enough to stop traffic. Sunmaids with tails, sunmaids with fins. He pressed his hands into his eyes, trying to unsee the images, but they weren't going anywhere.

Of course he was still in love with Nova; the girl had taken his heart and soul, keeping it tight in her arms. When he'd tried to say good-bye to her before summer started, she looked so haggard and tired he was afraid to approach her. He didn't think she'd allowed him to anyway; when she caught sight of him, she ran off like a scared rabbit.

Jim sighed, blowing his brown bangs from his eyes, wiping them uselessly.

Heartbreak was a horrible, terrible witch.

But he was with Leslie now. Leslie was a simple, comfortable relationship. He needed that right now. He hadn't told her that he was going on a treasure hunt; in fact, everything inside him told him to keep it a secret. She was an adventurer herself, that he had no doubt, but he couldn't bring himself to reveal his plans to traverse the dark edges of space for hidden treasure.

Jim pulled himself to his feet and flopped into his hammock, closing his eyes slowly and shoving the images of a black haired beauty who consistently haunted his dreams- and starred in his nightmares.

A/N: Yeah, these won't be long. The next one will be A LOT more exciting! I think I'll do three or four BREAKS before Jim heads back to school. If you don't like them, then you can go ahead and skip over them!


	16. Chapter 16

Interstellar Academy

16: BREAK 2

They woke up right as the sun hit them, their solar sails glistening under the sunrise. Jim woke up last, trying to catch the last remnants of sleep before they were lost to him for however long. Even though his mind was whirling the previous day, he felt refreshed and focused this morning. Silver was making his usual stew, which Jim missed over the year or so they'd been separated, and devoured it before he'd fully woken up.

So quickly, he'd forgotten he'd eaten anything at all.

"Now, lad, you want that to last. We have to ration, y'know?" Silver winked at him, though, showing he was only playing around.

"How long do you estimate this will last?" asked Rayn, slightly distracted with some knot tying he was assigned to do. Jim went over and helped him out, doing it slowly so he could watch how it was done.

"Probably another month and a half," guessed Silver, wiping his forehead. "Did it get hot all o' a sudden?"

Jim worked to pull as much of his hair into a ponytail as possible, though it didn't help with the strange heat rise. He looked around, trying to find the culprit. "There it is." He pointed to the sun not too far from them- as far as suns go, anyway. "We might want to kick it into high gear and far away before gravity starts working its magic."

Unfortunately, they were a bit late.

The sun was much larger than the one back home or at the Academy. Jim began to panic, his mind racing for a solution. As gravity pulled them closer, Jim had a strange, daring, yet genius idea.

"Let's take the sails down," Jim instructed, starting before anyone else had time to react.

"Are you crazy?" Rayn said, though he followed suit.

Silver knew better than to argue with Jim's logic; the boy never failed him before, why now?

"What are you planning Jim?"

"Since the sails aren't as heavy as the ones we've dealt with before, and if I'm right, this is gonna work. We're gonna create a little of our own air pressure." Jim watched as they got closer to the sun, then when he felt it was right, he released the sails again, causing them to push away.

"Nice goin', Jimbo!"

They repeated this action a few more times, then whenever they were far enough away, Silver started up the thrusters and they flew away and around the hot orb, escaping death once again.

"Are you always that handy?" Rayn asked, truly curious.

"Yeah, I guess." Jim loved it when people admired his quick-thinking, though he didn't like to admit it. "I think it's just something I picked up as a kid, being self- taught and all the stuff." Now the conversation was hitting a sensitive point, and he looked away, embarrassed, not wanting to continue further.

Silver and Rayn understood, also gazing onward.

The journey was primarily boring; they spoke little, ate feebly, and did mild chores to keep themselves busy- and to keep from going out of their minds. After a month and a week had past, Jim opened up the map again to navigate just how close they were. He'd avoided the task for the longest time, just so his hopes wouldn't rise, only to fall.

"Another couple days and we're there!" Jim said excitedly. Then he turned to Rayn. "Why would your grandmother keep a treasure hidden away, anyway? Are you guys not from the Island or…?"

"We are, as far as I know. My grandparents, from what I understand, had a pretty unhappy marriage. My grandma had loved someone else, but was arranged to my granddad. So she stayed faithful. But when she discovered that he, over and over throughout their time together, had been cheating on her, she started stowing away his treasure, sending it with men to this weird planet. Does that map say what it's called?"

"It really doesn't," Jim said, frustrated he couldn't read the strange writing on the map. "It's not an old map, though; that much I can tell."

"No, I'd say she started doing this about fifty years ago, until her death a year back." Rayn grimaced, her absence obviously hurting him. He cleared his throat and said, "But grandma talked about it in casual conversation when I was really little, no more than five. She talked about how it was a shining planet, like crystal. It really fascinated her. She wasn't really old when she was talking about it, but she referred to herself like she was. She'd been sick for quite a long time, which probably made her really exhausted. She said how she'd visited it but once, though she couldn't remember why. She assumed granddad had brought her there. But she fell in love with the planet, and she said for a little while, her and granddad got along. It was the happiest time of her life."

"So she placed all the trinkets and treasures that brought her happiness onto this one planet." Jim turned to Silver, puzzled. "What if… what if there really isn't an actual treasure? What if it's just… old lady stuff. No offense."

Rayn raised his hands. "None taken."

"I doubt that." Silver gave Rayn a glance, who simply shrugged.

"My grandparents weren't poor, by any means. So anything with value that she could keep from granddad, I imagine she'd put on that planet. Things always turned up missing, so often that my granddad stopped hiring people to clean his home and help with upkeep. My grandma, sincerely, reveled in his confusion. When she was about to pass away, my grandma finally admitted to hiding all of his belongings, and admitted to the map that led to them. But she never told him where either were located, and to this day, granddad still searches for it." Rayn briefly glanced at the map sitting by Silver before saying, "I don't think he needs to."

"Do you not like your grandfather, Rayn?" Jim asked.

"I don't like a lot of my family. For reasons you can understand. They're all psychopaths."

Jim nodded in agreement, his experiences with Rayn's family popping into his head in flashes.

It was silent for awhile, before the boat was turned ninety degrees, sending them knocking along the floor.

"What was that?" Silver leaned around the ship and searched. "Are you bloating kidding me?"

Pirates.

A large, fancy ship full of nicely dressed pirates.

Pulling out a large flintlock, Rayn said, "They had to do a TON of pilfering to look like that."


	17. Chapter 17

Interstellar Academy

Chapter 17: BREAK 3

No matter how much they fired back, Jim using two pistols, Rayn on his giant flintlock and Silver on the cannon, nothing was phasing these guys. Jim had to move from shooting to steering, since at the moment they were sitting ducks. Rayn covered him, standing right beside him to take guard. Even as they maneuvered most of the attacks, one of them damaging their sail, they still weren't a match.

"We either run off or we get on their ship," Jim said. "And you know me, Silver: I hate losing."

The old pirate winked and smirked, moving the ship quickly toward the bottom of the pirates, throwing them off. They waited there awhile, until one of them decided it'd be a wise idea to open the hatch below. Rayn and Jim leapt first, blasting back anyone who came near them. Next came Silver, wielding the big flintlock Rayn had earlier.

"I highly suggest you step back, and bring forth yer cap'n," Silver instructed.

The crew muttered and searched about, a man in a trim black uniform finally coming forth. His fellows looked more organized when he was around.

"And what have we here, men? A giant gerbil and his naked mole rats?" The crew laughed at his joke, though the smaller crew didn't find this at all humorous. "Oh don't be so serious, I'm only kidding you!" The man inspected them up and down. "You three look like you've experience in this field."

"Pirating?" Jim said lamely, his shoulders sagging. Now that he'd really seen the crew up close, he wasn't as intimidated by them; only annoyed.

"Exactly. Like voyaging space has no effect on you."

"We've had our run-ins from time to time," said Silver, putting on the safety of his weapon and fastening it to his back. "What's yer point, man?"

"My point is, how do you feel about joining my crew?"

This shocked the three of them, Rayn's jaw literally dropping. He spoke up: "Are you joking? You try to shoot us down and then expect us to join your ship of misfits?"

"Well dressed misfits," said the captain, his eyes glistening.

"He's gotta point."

Jim rolled his eyes, tired of this banter. "Look, we just… we have business to take care of, and don't have time for-"

The captain slammed a whip onto a nearby wall, stunning them all into silence, even the whispering pirates of his crew.

"I know why you're here. Rolanda's Treasure." Rayn jumped at the mention of his grandmother. "We've felt close to it, but it seems like the planet is narrowly escaping us."

After a moment of thought- and it being evident how stuck they were- Silver finally sighed, "OK. We'll work with ya."

Jim and Rayn both looked shocked, but agreed.

"Tie their… ship… next to ours. We don't want the poor thing… getting lost in space, do we?" The crew guffawed but went to work, a couple diving toward the ship and moving it to the top, the others meeting them to tie it down.

"Ah, where are my manners?" The captain took off his hat and bowed to them with great flourish. "I'm Captain Steven Grill."

"Don't you mean PIRATE Captain?" Jim challenged, crossing his arms. The man eyed him but said nothing, only turned away and walked upward toward the top deck.

Silver hobbled after him, his cyborg leg acting up.

"Silver?" Jim sped up beside him, stepping behind him when the hallway was too narrow. "What's wrong?"

"Just need to do a little tweekin', lad. Don't worry about it." He lowered his voice and turned his head slightly back to his companion. "And you need to really start picking your fights better. I thought we talked about this?"

Jim knew the old man was being serious, but he couldn't help but smile.

A/N: Short chapter is short, sorry! At any rate, I am enjoying writing from Jim's point of view and keeping Nova out of the picture for awhile. I'm also in love with Silver, so writing about him makes me so happy! Any notes? Well, you know where the review button is!


	18. Chapter 18

Interstellar Academy

18: BREAK 4

The next two days was full of planning. The Captain Grill and Jim consistently fought over the course of action. Eventually, Rayn stepped in, saying he vaguely remembered the mentioned location of the treasure. They inspected the map over and over, Rayn repeating the description, "Crystal, crystal," but none of the areas mapped the word.

They landed the ship and marched out, armed and ready. They hadn't a clue what to expect, though they figured if Rayn's grandparents vacationed here, it couldn't be so bad.

"Did I mention my grandparents were thrill seekers?"  
Just as Rayn finished his sentence, a loud roaring sounded overhead.

"That would have been nice to know!" Jim pulled out his guns and aimed upward, a flying creature with four sets of wings swooping down on them.

He knew his fires wouldn't do much, but any type of distraction- or maybe scare factor, though he didn't keep his hopes up- was a step forward.

Unless you angered the creature; then you're screwed.

They ducked behind some brush and hid for what seemed like ages, until the creature decided it was high time to harass a different group of pirates. When they thought it safe, they stood up and slowly walked onto the thinly made path. Silver pulled out the map and had Jim open it. It glowed a familiar green and honed in on the area they were in, then navigated them in the direction they needed to using a flashing yellow light.

They followed Jim, the boy holding the map in one hand and carrying a tiny flintlock with the other, his eyes scanning all directions.

"There, there is the crystal cave!" Rayn shoved forward, excited. It was like seeing his grandmother all over again, standing among those beautiful, blue crystal walls. The light confirmed the cave was their next destination.

Rayn led the way now, enthusiastic about entering. He touched the walls, cold and slick, and the carvings that lined them. "Hey, this is hers." It was dated back about fifty years, and read, 'To a lifetime of adventure, for all who enter.' Rayn cocked his head sideways. "That doesn't really sound like her. Why would she want a lifetime of adventure with granddad?"

"Maybe," Jim chimed in, standing next to him, "she was talking about us. And anyone looking for her treasure."

Rayn shrugged and moved forward, now following behind Jim again.

Another rawr sounded, shaking the crystal walls and causing shards to drop and narrowly miss them. Silver hovered over Jim and Rayn until the rocking ceased, then searched around. "Are you tellin' me we're in that blasted animal's home?"

"That was a detail Grandma missed," Rayn muttered, backing against the wall as if it would protect him. They had no shelter, no place to hide behind. They were completely exposed, should the creature decide to come out and hunt them down.

"Sounds like we should head back, right, mates?" Grill looked anxiously back at his crew, who nodded quickly in agreement. "Alright, men, let's turn around."

"I don't think so, Grill," Jim said. "I'm here now; I'm getting what I came for."

Grill scanned Jim up and down, then nodded solemnly. "Alright. We'll leave your boat behind then. You're on your own from here."

Rayn and Silver seemed nervous about this idea, but didn't argue. Jim gladly took him up on the offer, shaking hands and turning around to continue walking.

"Jim, are you sure?" Rayn said, checking his weapon. "We aren't armed for this."

"I'm sure. We've come too far."

They walked cautiously forward, making sure each step was quiet and precise. They made it to a fork, and watched the light shine through both directions.

"Well, how do we know-" began Silver, then he hushed when a growl and a snuff was heard on the left side of him. "Well, there you have it."

They continued on, picking up their pace but trying to keep quiet. "If there's one thing I know about folklore," said Jim, "it's that where ever there's a giant flying beast, there's treasure right under it."

Other than the green light and random yellow flash, there wasn't much for illumination. Silver succumbed to using his laser eye as a light, though it did little good. As they neared the end of their walk, an opening just yonder seeped orange light. They rushed toward it, excited, but halted when they reached the edge.

The light opened to a large canyon, surrounded by lava except a small island in the center.

There, sat Rolanda's treasure.

"Grandma, what did you STEAL?" Rayn exclaimed, surprised by the trove.

Gold everywhere, expensive vases, jewelry of every kind of every size, chests overflowing with goodies.

"This all belonged to your granddad?" Jim asked, his eyes wide with shock and wonder.

"Yep! The man was filthy freaking rich." Rayn searched along the walls, now rocks and dirt instead of beautiful crystal. "How do we get there?"

"We could try flyin'," Silver joked, also looking about.

"You know, Silver, that's not a bad idea." Rayn and Silver stared at Jim, frightened for his next idea.

"Wish to elaborate, lad?"

"We're gonna fly!"

A/N: Trekkie and Xiaolin, you two are so beautiful and dedicated, and I truly appreciate it 3 Thank you so much for supporting me, love you so!


	19. Chapter 19

Interstellar Academy

19: BREAK 5

"You see," Rayn began slowly, "that doesn't answer the question of 'why?'"

Jim's brain was calculating distance, as well as time it would take to get back to the ship and return here. It would take up too much precious time. So he looked upward, wondering if anything would help him there.

How perfect. A boat.

"That." It hung suspended by some chain, and with exact precision he could shoot it down, jump inside grab what he can and turn up on the other side. With all three of them doing this, they could grab a few handfuls of treasure and leave rich as kings.

"Did you forget about the dragon creature sleeping on top of the treasure, Jimbo?" Silver inquired, taking Jim's head and making him face the monster.

Actually, he had. We gotta get him to leave somehow."

The ground shook again, and the group hid just inside the entrance mouth to avoid any large shards of rock hitting them. The creature woke up from its deep slumber, growling frustratingly and sitting up.

"Perfect timing, Captain Grill."

"What do you mean?" Rayn asked, lost.

"That, my boy, is the sound of a ship taking off," Silver added, his eyes gleaming at Jim knowingly.

The beast flapped its four sets of wings and took off in the opposite entrance, appearing smaller than it actually was inside the hole. They waited a few breaths before making their moves.

Silver took out his large flintlock and aimed it upward. Aiming for only a second, he hit just right. The boat at first descended slowly, then quickly toward the ground- toward them. When it was right under the opening, they leapt inside, reaching down. They did this twice, filling their arms with as much treasure as possible. Jim even grabbed for a chest. Just when they thought they were home free, the other chain broke- probably rusted from however many years of suspension- and they dropped onto the tiny island.

"Well, darn it!" Rayn cursed, his eyes shooting up to the opposing hole the dragon creature had escaped from earlier. "We gotta hurry before he decides to return."

"And turn us into stew," Jim said, ducking under the old control panels.

"Anything you need me to do, boy?" Silver knelt beside Jim, awaiting any instruction.

"I'm gonna need you under here, Silver. Rayn." Jim ducked his head quickly to look at the blond. "You gotta keep a look out. Anything- a wing, a head, a SHADOW, you tell us. Got it?"

Rayn pulled out his gun and charged it up, nodding. "Got it."

They fiddled with the controls and wires, Rayn watching the area anxiously.

The roar that came before the neck of the beast popped into view warned them they better hurry.

"Uh, Jim?"

"I got it!"

Just as the dragon found them, growing angry at the sight, the boat came to life, floating slowly but surely. Silver pushed himself from under the controls and took over, steering the boat upward. The dragon didn't seem to appreciate their presence, and made it known by shooting plasma fire at them.

Morph, who'd been quiet in Silver's pocket, now came out to watch the spectacle. He squeaked and hid again, shaking the small crevice in John Silver's pants.

"It's gonna be OK, Morphy," Silver promised, focused on escaping.

Jim and Rayn shot at the beast, though it seemed potentially pointless. It didn't even phase him. Jim stole Silver's flintlock and tried again. The second shot did some damage to its wing, slowing it down.

Now they were in the hole, racing against time- and a giant flying creature- to head back to their ship. Jim aimed once again at another wing, which slowed down the dragon, but also made him angry. It roared powerfully, giant crystal spears spiraling toward them. Silver maneuvered the boat away from them, though a tinier one nailed the front.

"BLAST IT!" he cursed, speeding up.

Then entrance stood in front of them now, and they zoomed through it just as Jim nailed the dragon in the wing once more. The dragon gave up on them and swirled around, cursing them with one last growl. The entire planet shook, but nothing was coming down upon them.

Always a good sign.

"Are you serious?" Rayn had a huge smile crossing his face, his dimples showing through. "That's what you guys do when you're together, that's crazy!"

They laughed at his excitement, relieved and happy themselves to have missed death again.

They docked the longboat beside their ship, tying down so they didn't have to go through the motions of removing the treasure and putting into their ship; there wouldn't have been room.

The voyage home was rather slow and uneventful. They were quiet for awhile. A month in, they decided to find some sort of agreement for splitting the treasure.

"This is yours, boyo," Silver said, scooting the chest to Jim. The boy smiled and opened it, relishing in his findings.

Rayn was quietly scanning over the treasure, then reached out and plucked a solid gold chain out from the other gold objects. It was a locket. He opened it up and smiled. "This is all I want, honestly." He turned it around, allowing them to see what he wanted. "This was my grandmother's favorite locket. It holds a family portrait of her, her parents, and her big brother. She lost it when she traveled here." He unhooked the chain and fastened it on his neck, hiding the locket under his shirt collar. "Yep, this is enough for me."

That night, after dinner, Jim was looking out at the stars, memories of a year ago flashing behind his eyes.

"I didn't realize it was humanly possible to have that much fun." Rayn came up beside him, startling the younger boy.

"Yeah, it's an everyday thing, actually."

"Oh?" He laughed. "I imagine with the friends you have, it's never really boring."

By 'friends you have', Rayn obviously meant Nova. This entire time Jim hadn't even thought about her, or even Leslie, his current girlfriend. His heart sank. "You could say that."

"Do you miss her?" Rayn asked. "Your girlfriend."

Jim was glad Rayn clarified. "Yeah, I guess. We were only dating for like a week before school let out, so I'm not sure…"

Rayn laughed. "You two were talking forever, though. Figured it was a matter of time." He shrugged. "Time for bed, little man. Coming up?"

"Nah, 'think I'll stay here and watch the stars for awhile."

"Suit yourself."

And Jim spent two hours watching star after star fly by, a meteor shower far away falling gracefully through them. But he didn't spend that time missing his girlfriend, which made him feel guilty.

He spent that time missing a different girl entirely.

When they arrived on Montressor, Jim and Rayn dumped the remaining treasure into the ship and took the longboat to the dock. Jim and Silver exchanged one last hug before he left.

"Uh, well, Jim, I'm not fond of going back home to the Island, BUT if I gotta-"

Jim laughed. "Yes, you can stay with me."

"Thank GOODNESS."

Sarah Hawkins was finishing with some clean up, the lunch rush long gone. Jim burst through the door, a wide smile on his face, and she dropped everything she had and hugged him. "You want to tell a mother when you're adventuring with pirates next time?"

"Aw, you knew?"

"Moms know everything." She rolled her eyes, then looked, shocked, at Jim's companion. "Er… hello?"

"Hello, ma'am." Rayn bowed formally at his friend's mother. "Rayn, at your service."

"Ah, hello, Rayn."

After brief introductions and a detailed recap of their adventure, an exhausted Jim and Rayn went to their rooms.

Though Jim didn't get a chance to crash.

"Oh yeah," he muttered. "I turned seventeen a week ago." He looked through the random packages and cards, taking out a piece of paper and a pen to write down names to thank later. His mother always had those special cards for occasions like this.

Then his eyes spotted a little blue package wrapped with a gold ribbon. He didn't know why this particular gift stuck out from the rest, but at any rate he reached down and admired it. The tag on it read, "Happy Birthday! Nova"

So that was why.

He slowly opened it up and looked inside, gasping. He pinched the gift at the top and carefully removed it from its box. He set it on his desk and stared at it, unsure of how to feel.

She knew where they were going. Rayn must have told her.

It was made of pure, clear crystal, the platform swirling upward like a wave and surrounding a light blue orb that replicated a planet. He admired the piece of work, then looked in the box again. There was a small card inside and he opened, reading it over and over.

"Hi, Jim!

I'm really no good at these sorts of things. So I'll start a point and go from there!

This past year with you has been nothing less than an adventure and a learning experience. You helped me really come out of my shell. And for that, I thank you so much! I know in the end, things turned out bad, and I was rather childish, and I'm so sorry for my behavior. I hope when school starts up, we come back completely new people, and I'm planning on growing up! Rayn told me where you'd gone, and I thought I'd make a gift to commemorate you on that. Congrats on the voyage! I hope you have fun, and I hope you have a great birthday!

Nova"

When his eyes were reading too slow for his brain to process the words he now memorized, he put the card carefully in his desk. He noticed a gift with a tag that read "Leslie" but he didn't touch it. Instead, he crashed onto his bed, closed his eyes tight, and forced himself to sleep, hoping his mind would shut up all the thoughts that were now racing through his head.

A/N: And that's it! The BREAKS are over, and a new year is starting! How exciting! Thanks for sticking with me through it, I know they weren't really that exciting. I just had to get away from Nova. Thanks again, readers!


	20. Chapter 20

Interstellar Academy

20: Jailed

The ship, as was expected, took a week to travel from the Space Port to the Academy. Jim searched aimlessly for his friends, finding Leslie first. They embraced before he led her, hand in hand, to find the others.

"Hey, Jim!" Stav and Ruse tackled Jim to the ground; thankfully, the boy had let go of his girlfriend's hand before she came tumbling with them.

"Well, hey there." He smiled at his boys; he'd missed them terribly. "What's up?"

"Nothin'. Just found Rayn. You guys hung out all summer?" Ruse raised an eyebrow. "That's… different."

"Yeah. He's actually a pretty cool guy, once you get to know him."

"I bet." They stood up and Jim assumed position beside Leslie.

"Brother!" Charlotte's voice sang across the ship, and she came up to hug all of them. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know, Charlotte, how was I doing one hour ago?"

She chuckled and reached behind her, hands entwining with Nova's. Her hair was in its usual braid, though it was evident it'd grown. Her eyes glistened the usual sea green and her pink mouth formed a small smile.

"Did you guys hear about Helena?" the green alien asked, her eyes growing sad. "She's in jail!"

"Again," Nova added, rolling her eyes.

"For what?" Ruse looked disappointed; he and Helena had mild crushes on each other all last semester.

"She stole from her job, supposedly." Charlotte sighed. "When you look at the evidence piled up against her, you can tell it wasn't her fault! Someone was framing her."

"If it's obvious for you guys, why isn't it obvious to them?" Stav asked, crossing his metallic silver arms.

"Someone has to take the blame," said Nova sadly.

"That's so wrong," Leslie said, Jim squeezing her hand. "Is there nothing no one can do?"

"Do you mean, is there anything a bunch of teenagers could do? I doubt it." Charlotte groaned. "And we have to get a new roommate!" She looked over at Nova nervously. "What if we get that Jennifer girl? Oh, my goodness, she hates me!"

Nova rolled her eyes. "She does not, she's very sweet."

"Jennifer?" Ruse laughed. "Nova, are we talking about the same person?"

"She's been nothing less than nice to me." The sunmaid shrugged.

"Anyway, let's get on with chores before the advisors chew our head off."

They went their separate ways, each gender getting assigned parts of the ship to clean the entire week. Jim didn't see much of Leslie or Nova, which he preferred, but when he did, they were together. That, honestly, made him nervous.

By the time the ship docked, Jim was a wreck, his head racking with combinations of the girls' conversations- or arguments.

They seemed happy enough though.

"We found our other roommate," Nova said, giggling, pointing over at Leslie.

"I was happy to oblige."

"Better than Jennifer by a thousand." Charlotte muttered, glancing at the Jello creature yonder. "A thousand times a thousand."

Since they were sophomores, they didn't have to go through some stupid initiation. Or so they thought.

That night, after the freshmen shuffled back into their dorms, Charlotte came huffing into the girls' lounge where the rest of them were conversing.

"LESLIE. I need you!"

The others stared at their breathless friend, puzzled.

"Yes, Charlotte?"

"Do you know how to swim?"

"No. I'm quite terrible at it." Leslie shrugged, her shoulders barely hitting the ends of her bright red hair. "Sorry!"

"UGH." Charlotte dramatically collapsed into Nova's lap, her words muffled, though audible to the group. "Why do you have to have a fin?"

"Because… I was born that way?" Nova pat her friend on the back. "There, there."

"The junior girls called upon me- ME- for a hazing challenge, and I can't participate."

"What type of challenge?" Ruse's arms crossed over his chest, now puffed out. He was in brother-mode.

"A… could you jump from a high point into freezing cold water wearing nothing but your underclothes challenge?"

Nova threw the girl into an upright position. "Why in the world would you agree to something like that!"

"Because it sounds like fun! And it's boiling hot, how would you feel it?"

"What if there are rocks at the bottom of that water, you could get really hurt!"

"And why would you ask my girlfriend to take part in that?" Jim asked defensively.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You guys are no fun at all." She rested her head on Nova's shoulder. "I really wanted to do it." She looked pleadingly at Nova.

"I'm ignoring you."

"Remember the last time Nova tried swimming in public?" Rayn added, having been quiet for some time. He had on his reading glasses and was going over a "student-teacher's guidebook". He was going to start his student teaching within the week, after a crash course. He was great with navigation and memory, and decided to help the geography teacher out.

"Yeeeees, but we're not surrounded by freakos with a boat- no offense, Rayn."

"None taken."

"Come oooooon."

Charlotte's black eyes shone and dark green lips quivered.

"Charlotte no." After just a moment, she grudgingly sighed. "FINE. I'll do it."

"YAY!" She hugged her. "You don't even have to get out of the water."

"I don't have a choice."

"Can we watch?" asked Stav, which earned him pillows to the face from both Nova and Ruse.

"NO."

"Cool, I was going to anyway." He packed his things and stood up. "Lead the way, ladies."

"WHOOT!"

Charlotte didn't wait for Nova to college her items, but grabbed her arm and pulled her outside. They went to the beach, then headed up a cliff.

"Charlotte, are you sure? We could really get hurt."

"Quit your belly-aching, Finn! We'll be fine!"

They reached the top, and Nova looked down.

"Are you gonna be OK?" Jim hovered beside her, also staring at the ocean below.

"I'm not sure, but I'm certainly hoping so." She gazed up at him and smiled. "Someone's gotta guard her, Heaven knows she won't do it herself."

"Good point." He laughed lightly, then said with a heaving sigh, "I got your present."

"You did! I was worried it'd gotten lost in space." She stood up. "Did you like it? I thought it was awful appropriate."

"Yeah, it was awesome, actually. Thank you."

"Hey, Nova, get your butt over here and get NAKED."

"Ch-Charlotte!" Nova scolded, embarrassed. She ducked behind a bush, placing her shirt and jeans neatly on the branches. Then she emerged, trying her best- and failing- to cover herself with arms.

Charlotte grabbed hold of Nova's hands, then looked excitedly at the junior girls.

"Three…. Two…. One… JUMP."

And they did.

They plunged into the water with a deep SPLASH, and for awhile no one came up.

Jim scanned for the familiar white fin, which he finally found swimming around below. Nova's head popped, her eyes panicked. "I can't find her! We got in, and the current ripped us apart, I can't find her anywhere!" She dove back under, careful not to reveal her fin.

She came up five minutes later, stunning the junior girls, with Charlotte, the girl's bright blue hair disappearing against the sea.

They met up at the beach, Ruse bending down and taking her from Nova. He knew the sunmaid couldn't come near the shore.

"I'll get Rayn! It's easier to travel by water; he's on the beach." Nova swam away, Jim watching her fin fly across the waves.

"Has she ever considered the swim team?" one of the juniors muttered, causing Ruse to blow up.

"You think this is a JOKE! She could really be hurt! Or worse!" That quieted the girls up.

Rayn coming up then, shirtless- he'd given his shirt to a now dry Nova. "Move out of the way!"

"Mr. White, look, we were just-"

"Don't start with me, ladies! You'll definitely be punished for this!" The girls shut up again, huddling together in a heap of guilt.

"Will she be OK?" Ruse asked, his heart racing and rising to his throat.

Rayn bent over her, shoving anyone else out of the way. Then he pressed onto her chest, breathed into her mouth, and repeated this a couple times before she finally coughed.

"Nnn… What?" She opened her eyes slowly, fluttering at each new blur that her eyes couldn't quite focus on. "Wha' happen'?"

"You nearly drowned." Rayn took one arm and placed it around his neck, then lifted her off the sand and into his arms, carrying her along the beach toward the campus. He glared at Nova, who ducked her head slightly. "You could have been KILLED. I know you can breathe but… there could have been rocks. There could have been hungry sea creatures. ANYTHING could have gotten you BOTH. Do you realize that?"

Nova nodded, ashamed, and didn't say anything else.


	21. Chapter 21

Interstellar Academy

21: Motives

The first day of school was rather slow, as to be expected. Both Jim and Nova had taken more physically demanding classes; come junior and senior year their training would really begin, and they wanted to be as prepared as humanly possible.

"Have you heard back from Charlotte? Or heard any news about Helena?"

They were jogging in their year two physical education class, and they were on a walking break.

"Charlotte's being admitted tomorrow, Ruse said. He's so worried, I'm afraid that he's going to tear his hair out." She paused while they ran another two laps, continuing once she caught her breath. "As for Helena, all I've heard is they're going to officially sentence her in the next couple of months. She writes to Ruse a lot, since… you know…" Jim nodded. "And she just hates where she is. They keep her locked up, and when they're on 'rec break' the other inmates beat her up. I just couldn't imagine…"

"Are you feeling better? From the other day, you know?"

"Yeah, I feel really horrible for what happened to Charlotte, but physically I'm fine. But how have you been!" She wiped the frown from her face, smiling brightly. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you in… well, months, honestly."

"Fine, I guess. Silver, Rayn and me went on that crazy adventure. Did you know crystal caves are frequent homes to giant flying plasma breathing creatures?"

"Well, I didn't before, and now that I do, I'll keep that in mind. It could occur on a test, anywhere!"

Gym class finished, and they felt sore afterward, they had to carry each other out. Only, this caused a lot of tripping and laughing.

"Ah, hey, Jim." Leslie hovered over the giggling two, looking rather… annoyed.

Jim cleared his throat and stood up, helping Nova to her feet. "Hey, Leslie. Ready for your next class?"

"Yeah, I am. I wanted to talk to you anyway."

Jim waved good-bye to Nova before rushing off behind Leslie. He grabbed hold of her hand, though she didn't squeeze back.

"Hey, Leslie, what's wrong?"

The red head sighed, rolling her eyes. "What do you think? You were laughing with your EX-girlfriend." She turned on her heel, her bright eyes twinkling with agitation. "I don't want you to hang with her anymore."

This took Jim aback. "Pardon?"

"You're MY boyfriend now. And I don't like to be possessive, but when it comes to girls like her, she'll do nothing but try and take you from me!"

"Leslie, you're being completely unreasonable." He pressed his hands down on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Listen, you're my girlfriend now. And that's all you need to worry about. There is no one else. OK? Trust in that. As for Nova, she's my friend. She's my BEST friend. We have our ups and downs- and yes we dated- but that's in the past. Alright?"

Leslie gave a small smile and kissed him on the cheek. "OK. I'm sorry for being so… idiotic."

Jim kissed her forehead and headed off in the opposite direction for his class. However, Leslie had a different idea.

She found her in the courtyard, breaking pieces of bread and feeding them to the local animals. Two squirrels and a flock of birds huddled around her feet for food.

"You're so sweet, Nova, you know that?"

Nova smiled at her. "Hey, Leslie! And thanks you're awful nice yourself!"

"I mean, you're practically perfect. There's nothing wrong with you, right?" Leslie sat next to Nova, too close for comfort.

Nova cocked her head to the side, confused. "Leslie, is everything alright? You're talking differently."

"Oh, yes. I'M fine. Unfortunately, Jim…" She bit her lip and looked away. When the other girl placed her hand on her shoulder, she had to stifle the smile curling the edges of her lips.

"What about Jim? Is there anyway I can help?"

"Actually…" She cleared her throat and looked at her, fake tears brimming. "Yes. Jim is trying to move on and really succeed this year. But he's having so many distractions. Like you, for instance. I know you guys had a thing before, and that it meant a lot to you both. But don't you think it's about time you went your separate ways? Completely?"

"You mean, like, not being friends anymore?" Leslie could tell this broke the girl's heart, but also knew Jim was her absolute weakness.

"Well, yes. I don't want to ask something like that of you, I really don't, but for Jim, I think we can both agree that's best."

Nova thought a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. If it's for Jim's benefit, then I won't speak to him anymore." She stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "Thanks, Leslie. For taking care of him."

When Nova was out of earshot, Leslie let out the cackle she'd been holding in.

"As long as they're not together, they're not at all safe. Isn't that right, Roger?"

Roger appeared from behind a bench, taking off the sunglasses at the bridge of his nose. "Absolutely, my dear Leslie."

"They're not going to humiliate you, as long as I live."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: As always, Trekkie and Xiaolin are my beautiful reviewers I must thank! I went through and edited A LOT of the story; some parts weren't well written AT ALL, and for that I apologize. As for the storyline, I'm keeping it the way it is. Nova is a weak character now, but that means there's a lot I can grow and develop with her. Clarification: Rayn is in his twenties; they are now JUNIORS not sophomores, the Academy is a 3-year school; when Roger and Nova first dated, I meant to write two MONTHS, not WEEKS; Nova has no feelings toward Rayn; Leslie heard a RUMOR Roger was going to be expelled, obviously it wasn't true, she said it so Jim would let his guard down; unless Roger is dead, I'm not getting rid of him.

Interstellar Academy

22: Lies

The year progressed rather slowly. Jim hurled himself into his work and his girlfriend. She'd been looking rather stressed lately and decided maybe some alone time would do them both good. His head was hurting from all his academics anyway.

Leslie waited for him inside the maze near the courtyard. She was fiddling with some loose brush, as if trying to even that particular part of the wall with the rest of it. She smiled sweetly at the sight of him, causing his lips to return the favor.

"Hey! Glad to see you. Sorry it's been so long, school-"

Leslie surprised him by kissing him, pulling away to giggle playfully. "I understand, you don't have to explain yourself to me."

He reached for her hand and led the way through the maze, walking aimlessly.

His relationship with Leslie was a lot easier and simpler than his last. However, the lack of any complications unnerved him. Leslie was open, funny, sweet, and extremely pretty. Which, most people wouldn't argue with. She seemed, to Jim, TOO perfect. At least with Nova, he knew her flaws and weaknesses. With Leslie, it was almost like she didn't have any.

"I think tonight we should so something really special," Leslie said, her blue eyes sparkling at her boyfriend. "Don't you agree?"

"Well, I made plans to…" He stared deep into her eyes, and something about them compelled him to comply with her wishes. "Sure, yeah. That sounds fun." Stav and Ruse could go on a dudes' night without him, right?

"Excellent! I knew you would…"

Something was lining between her words, but his mind wasn't working properly. He felt like a cloud of smoke muddled all thought process. He shook his head, as if the motion would force some gears to start moving.

"Is something wrong, Jim?" Leslie's eyes were so mesmerizing, he couldn't bring himself to worry her with his petty headaches.

"No, not at all. Actually, I feel perfect."

They walked awhile longer before coming to the other side of the maze.

"What did you want to do tonight? I was thinking a late night picnic, agreed?"

Even though picnics weren't particularly his thing, he nodded anyway.

Something was wrong here, but his brain didn't want to tell him what.

At his dorm, Jim lay on his bed, holding an ice compress.

"Hey, bro, get up. We got a ton of video games to play, and not enough time to play them," Ruse said, shaking Jim's leg.

"Uh, not tonight, guys. I told Leslie I'd meet up with her tonight. We're going on a picnic."

Stav and Ruse exchanged glances before glaring back at their friend. "You hate picnics."

"I know. But I couldn't tell her no." He sat up slowly, keeping the ice on his throbbing forehead. "Might not be out long anyway; I have the worst headache."

"That's what you get from being genius, Jim," Stav commented, winking at him. "Thank goodness I don't get headaches."

"That's because you don't have a brain," Jim scoffed, setting the ice on the glass coffee table.

Stav shoved a pillow at the boy. "You are so clever, Hawkins."

Standing up and heading to the bathroom, he brushed his hair back then grabbed his gray jacket and headed to the door. "I don't know when I'll be back, so I'll see you when I do, alright?"

"OK, bud, be safe." Ruse winked, Jim rolling his eyes at his friend's mild humor.

On the beach, Leslie was already there, her red hair in two short ponytails, a floral dress adorning her body. She looked up at Jim with those electric eyes, something inside him altering. His headache grew, unfortunately, so he focused his eyes elsewhere.

"Are you alright? You haven't been acting like yourself all day."

"Uh, yeah, I guess." He sat beside her and kissed her cheek. "Just a headache."

"Do you want to cancel until some other time?" Leslie asked, though her eyes begged him not to.

He listened. "No, of course not. This is our night."

His brain was screaming at him; every time he looked at Leslie, his mind felt like it would go from mush to this heavy rock just at the back of his skull.

"Good!" She turned around for a moment, revealing a picnic basket. "I worked so hard for tonight, I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I'll love it, Leslie."

They ate slowly, briefly distracted by their surroundings- and in Jim's case, a pounding headache- before the girl finally said, "This is so perfect. I haven't felt this blissful since I was in the Rosado galaxy."

Jim was munching on a sandwich, the act of digesting food helping his head, when he paused mid-bite, placing his sandwich on his lap. "When did you go there?"

"This past summer. It was… for some business."

Something inside Jim was trying to transmit an important message, but upon looking at Leslie, it disappeared.

They spent another hour or so together before Jim declared he had to head home.

"My head won't give me any rest. I'm sorry." He walked her to her dorm, as was gentlemanly, and then went back to his own, filling a new bag full of ice and laying down in bed again. His friends were still playing video games, and he tossed a throw pillow at them. "Please turn that down."

"Dude, you look like CRAP," Ruse commented, pausing the game to get a good look at his friend. "What's up? Too much fun with your girlfriend?"

"Actually, I ended up cutting all fun short. My head wouldn't quit pounding." He was quiet before he decided to ask, "Do you guys know anything about the Rosado galaxy?"

Ruse and Stav glanced at each other, then Stav said to Jim, almost frustratingly, "Well, Helena lives there."

Strings were knitting together in Jim's brain; thinking seemed to really hurt his head more. But something about this information seemed important.

"Leslie went there this past summer… for business…"

Stav crossed his arms. "For real? I heard after the string of thefts, they'd started closing down the area except to locals; it's not a big galaxy, so it was easy to do."

"Right." Jim's brain had enough thinking, and finally he fell asleep.

The next day, Jim met up with Leslie, who looked more energized than she did yesterday. "Slept well?"

"Absolutely! And yourself?" She pressed a palm to his forehead.

"Yeah, though I could have slept better." He walked toward his physical education class, almost forgetting to grab hold of his girlfriend's hand.

"Jim, I'm back here."

He looked back at as if he'd been hailed down by a stranger, then reached back for her hand nonchalantly before walking toward her class instead.

"That's better."

"So what business did you have in the Rosado galaxy? Just curious. I heard it was closed down after the thieving incidents." Why did it bother him so much?

"Oh, right, did I say this past summer? I meant the summer before… in my past." She grew nervous.

He'd caught her in a lie.

He glared down at her, his eyes narrowing. "Leslie, what-"

"Come on, boyfriend, you don't really wanna talk about this, do you?" She gazed longingly into his blue eyes, and any thoughts pertaining to their previous conversation vanished.

"No. No I don't. I'm sorry." He kissed her and went to class, his head pounding again.

What were they talking about again?


	23. Chapter 23

Interstellar Academy

23: Truth

"Apparently, she's been to the Rosado Galaxy," Ruse said, mouth full of food.

"Will you chew and swallow before speaking, please?" Charlotte scolded her brother, turning away embarrassingly.

"I am a man, sis; get used to it." He munched on his food obnoxiously, his mouth uncomfortably close to her ear. She shoved her brother away playfully.

"She couldn't have gone recently," Nova said, raising an eyebrow. "Not with all the thefts and the fact the authorities shut the place out to outsiders."

"That's what I told Jim. Then when we talked about it later, he'd forgotten all about it. How weird is that?"

Jim didn't forget anything. He was a prodigy for a reason, the boy had the memory of an elephant. Any little detail, no matter how miniscule, he would commit it to memory.

This unnerved the sunmaid.

Nova had abided by Leslie's wishes and avoided Jim this past semester so far. Initially, the girl was hurt by the idea, but she'd started to notice how carefree Jim looks. He didn't appear as stressed as he did before.

But this newfound information puzzled her, for reasons unknown.

If anything suspicious or wrong was going on, though, Nova felt confident Jim would discover it and nip it in the bud.

She ran several laps in physical education with five-pound weights in her hand before using ten out of the last twenty minutes of class for a walking rest. Jim ran up beside her, also breathless, with that boyish smile that still set her heart ablaze.

Being separated for so long also helped her heal, though it was her fault he'd felt pushed away. The time apart mended the little broken pieces that she'd formed for herself, and she picked them up slowly but surely. Though, when he stood next to her like this, she would end up dropping a few small shards.

"Hey!" He pat her on the back. "How are you?"

Casual, awkward conversation. It wasn't like they'd known each other for almost two years or anything.

"Fine, actually. And yourself?"

"Perfect, believe it or not." He stretched his arms into the air and twisted his torso to cool down his body.

"I'm glad to hear it. You don't look so stressed."

"Well… I don't feel stressed, but my head hasn't been doing too well."

She cocked her head to the side. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It's been doing this awful pounding thing for a couple months. At first, it was on and off, but now it's almost consistent."

"Have you seen the infirmary? Maybe it's something other than school."

Jim contemplated that a second. "Yeah, I think I know what it is. Can I talk to you about something?"

Nova really didn't want to, but those puppy dog eyes practically forced her to sit down in the bleachers. "What's up?"

"It's about Leslie. I think… I think she's lying to me about something."

Nova bit her lip, her eyebrows lowering on her forehead. "Well, Jim. Everyone lies. Is it that big of a deal or…"

"She said she went to the Rosado Galaxy during this past summer. But that didn't seem right because they'd shut it down." He rubbed his temples and talked slowly, as if this conversation was just coming to his memory. "But then she changed what she'd said; she'd gone the summer before. I don't know, it just bothers me."

"Have you talked to HER about this?" Nova really wished he would.

"I try, but when I start out confident, I end up forgetting what we're talking about. It's like, I look at her, and suddenly my brain goes blank. I can't think around her."

The sunmaid really didn't want to have THIS conversation. "Maybe you could write it down and give it to her? If it's written down, you're not looking at her, and if she reads it, she can't look at you to distract you."

"I've thought about that, but I'm too forward. You know me."

Nova nodded, sighing. "I don't know what to tell you. It is rather, odd, though, not gonna lie."

"Hey, Nova!" Leslie appeared out of no where, it seemed, and approached the two of them. As she drew closer, she slowed her pace and eyed them both, as if trying to uncover their conversation just by looking at them.

Nova felt exposed under her gaze.

"Hi, Leslie," Nova said meekly, waving.

"Are you almost done? If so, let's go back to the dorm; it's study break period for us both, right?"

"Yeah, let me change, I guess." Nova said a soft good-bye to Jim before rushing away.

Leslie took the other girl's original spot, moving close to her boyfriend. "Hey there, cowboy."

"Hey. Did you class dismiss early?"

"Yeah, actually! So I decided to come and visit my favorite human." She linked arms with him and forced him to his feet. "Then join my good friend Nova at the dorm."

"Sounds like a plan." He huffed, his eyes focused on the sky above. He just had to blurt it out, and keep his eyes elsewhere. "Hey, Leslie, look. I think we need to talk-"

"Oh, guess what!" she interrupted, and went into a ramble about something irrelevant, throwing him off.

However, he wasn't going to be deterred.

He stopped in his tracks to glare down at her. "Leslie, why do you keep interrupting me? I'm trying to talk with you and you won't listen; I'm starting to get frustrated."

Leslie's lip quivered, but he wouldn't give in. She was still trying to distract him.

"What are you hiding from me?"

"Hey, Leslie, I'm rea-" Nova noticed their little moment, and turned to walk away. "Sorry!"

"N-no, Nova, I'm coming." Leslie threw his hand from her, as if disgusted. "You know, I think it's pretty messed up that you would question me."

"Not really, I think it's completely reasonable, considering you keep avoiding everything I say."

"Whatever." She flipped her short red hair and caught up with Nova. The sunmaid glanced back at her friend, confused, but was tugged forward, unable to go back and check on Jim.

That girl hid something important from him, and he felt hellbent on discovering what it could be.

They spent a week and a half not speaking to each other, Jim delving into finding out more about Leslie, Nova secretly helping him. She'd convinced Charlotte, Stav and Ruse rather easily to join in. They tried to find data of some sort, any remnant of info that would assist them in their search, but nothing came up.

"It's like she appeared out of no where," Charlotte said, tossing a piece of paper angrily to the ground.

"There has to be something…" Stav and Nova were searching through the same pile, then simultaneously pulled out a shred of torn, browned paper. Stav gasped. "Uh… guys?"

"I can't believe it…"

The other three stood behind them, reading over their shoulders.

"Leslie… worked at the same place Helena did…"

The pieces fit together.

Jim growled, turning on his heel. "I can't believe it. I should have KNOWN."

Nova stood beside him and laid a hand to his shoulder. "No one could have suspected, Jim."

He looked at his best friend with so much hurt and sadness her heart broke all over again. So much for picking up the pieces.

"We gotta call her out," Charlotte said, rushing to the door.

"And what good would that do?" Stav held her back, his grip on her arm gentle but firm.

"It would make me feel better."

"We don't even know if this article is right. I mean, all its describing is a girl with bright hair and bright eyes. Of course they took Helena in; she matches those descriptions."

"But so does LESLIE. It's rare to find light-haired people in the Rosado galaxy. She must have rushed off before being caught."

"Why would she frame Helena?" Ruse asked, his mind now elsewhere.

"To pull us apart, no doubt. Like she successfully did with you two." Charlotte gestured between Nova and Jim, whose faces blushed at being put on the spot. "I mean, you guys don't go a day without speaking to each other. This girl comes along and now you never do? Really?" Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"She told me it'd be best," Nova confessed, facing Jim. "She said you were distracted by me, and you wanted to succeed, but couldn't if I was around."

"That's not even true, I never said that!" Though he was yelling in Nova's direction, she knew it wasn't intended for her, but for his girlfriend.

Or ex-girlfriend.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Ruse said, opening the door from the backroom of the library and heading out. "It's hers. Now let's pay her a little visit."

"We need more solid evidence," Nova called out.

Stav agreed hurriedly, pulling his friend back in and slamming the door. "She's right, we've got nothing on her."

"AND WHY DOES SHE CARE?" Charlotte ripped through the papers, trying to find just one more inkling of evidence.

They thought a moment, the only sound coming from a grumbling Charlotte. Then Jim said, "Who wants more than anything to see us torn apart?"

Nova didn't have anyone in mind, until her brain come up with a horrid, tanned face with grotesque horns protruding from its white hair. "Roger." She pressed a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Goddess, I thought he'd been expelled."

"I haven't seen him around. Maybe he has. Maybe he hasn't. But I doubt he's off the campus," Ruse said through his teeth.

"When is Helena's trial?" Nova asked, the clock ticking extra loud now.

"A week from tomorrow."

"Then we gotta work fast," Jim said. "If we can prove Helena isn't the culprit, we can save her from going to jail. And it looks like we got all the proof we need."

They searched aimlessly on databases, on search engines, on anything that would provide solid proof that Helena was in fact innocent.

A/N: I'm going to edit this chapter later; I don't really feel like it, plus I have to leave in twenty minutes but wanted to post it. Anyway, sorry for my bad grammar; I'm having a horrible case of writer's block and forcing myself to form pretty much random sentences in the hopes they make sense. Like I said, I'll be editing this and the previous chapter.


	24. Chapter 24

Interstellar Academy

24: Revealed

Nova and Charlotte kept their distance from Leslie; one false move, one slip up, and their entire scheme would be revealed. Charlotte led as many swim classes and meets as possible, having been dubbed assistant captain. As for Nova, she simply poured her heart into her studies, frequently going over to the library to crack open unimaginable amounts of knowledge with Stav. Leslie didn't appear as if she noticed, but even so, they kept their guard way up.

"I think I'm going to forgive Jim now," Leslie said, to no one in particular.

"… What did he do?" Nova raised her head from her book to glare at her roommate.

"For humiliating me. Questioning me, seriously?" Leslie scoffed, her eyes glued to whatever magazine article she was reading.

"Oh, right." Nova rolled her eyes and continued with her homework.

"I mean, whenever you and Jim fought, how long did you wait to talk to him again?"

"Uh… the next minute we could?" Nova rubbed her nose against her book, not wanting to have this conversation.

"That's probably why you didn't work out. I mean, how could he think about what he'd done wrong if you were constantly trying to fix things. That's not your place."

Nova tossed her book onto her bed and rolled off, putting on her slippers and heading to the door. "I need some air."

She only wore a blue sweater and jeans, and the wind was rather rough that night. She noticed familiar brown hair under the moonlight by the courtyard. She playfully bumped into him, shocking him at first, but he smiled at her regardless.

"Just so you know, your girlfriend is going to forgive you." Nova eyed Jim accusingly. "Questioning her, seriously?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "Well, come tomorrow, that won't matter to me."

They stayed soberly quiet, but Nova hated how awkward it felt. "Jim?"

He looked over at her, his attention fully on her.

"I'm sorry. About all of this. About her." She shook her head. "I wish things turned out differently. I hate to see you upset. And I hate even more that she's done this to you- to us, Helena especially."

"I know." He twiddled his thumbs, concentrating on making his digits move in opposite directions. "But I'm glad I found out. Instead of waiting and waiting. The idea of facing her, though… I don't know how I'll do it. Since…"

"She's doing something. If she lied about the incident with the Rosado Galaxy, there's no doubt in my mind she's got something else up her sleeve." She placed a reassuring hand on his firm shoulder. "Besides, you won't be alone."

Their eyes locked, and Nova suddenly forgot how to breathe. Jim turned away first, biting his lip.

"Look. Last year… I'm sorry-"

"Don't you dare, Jim Hawkins." Nova interrupted. "None of that last year was your fault. I was being… utterly ridiculous. There isn't an excuse for how I was acting. I'M sorry. Really, truly sorry."

Jim smiled softly at Nova. "I forgive you." He then sighed. "But I couldn't forgive Leslie."

"No one's asking you to. She needs to be brought to justice, and soon. If we don't expose her in time, Helena…"

"I know…"

The next day, the group met in the courtyard, Jim off by his lonesome. Since Leslie was going to "forgive" him, no doubt she'd want to be alone- though he knew she'd make a spectacle of it.

"I'm so nervous," Nova said, her eyes glued to her friend.

"Everything will be OK, Nova, just be patient and be ready." Ruse rubbed her arm in an attempt to calm her down.

"Right."

"Jim!" Leslie voice squealed across the large patio, a few students turning around to see what the noise was about. The red head wrapped her arms around his neck, though he didn't make a move to hug back. "I'm so happy to see you! I know we had our little spat, but I want you to know, I forgive you."

Jim gently pried the girl from his body and shoved her away. "Glad to hear it. Wish I could say the same thing."

Leslie looked genuinely hurt and confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're a liar and a thief, and now I can't help but question what else you just so happen to be."

"W-what did I tell you about questioning me?" The girl crossed her arms hotly. "Seriously, Jim, if you want us to last, you're gonna have to quit being so accusing."

"I wouldn't if you were honest to me, like you avoided being honest in the Rosado Galaxy last summer."

She froze, her eyes then scanning over the crowd surrounding them.

That was their cue.

Nova walked over first and took her stand beside Jim. "You thought you could get away with it, didn't you? Lying and stealing the way you did."

The others joined them then. Ruse held up the article Stav had found earlier that week. "You did this, didn't you? You set her up."

Flustered, Leslie dropped her hands, staring between each of them, shocked. Then she said defensively, "I haven't a clue what you all are talking about! Seriously, toss your accusations elsewhere!"

"You don't know!" Charlotte yelled. "How about that you stalked my friend, got a job at her work, framed her for theft so she'd get arrested, and ran away faster than anyone could point a finger at you!"

"Why would _I_ waste my time framing _her_?" But Leslie's glare turned into a smirk, and she nodded behind them. "Oh, right. He told me to."

They all faced the opposite direction in unison, Nova and Jim huddling a bit closer together.

"That's right, my little su-" Roger stopped his sentence, laughing. "Oh, right, no one knows. Big secret. Got'cha." He winked at Nova, as if the secret was strictly between them.

"What was the point in dragging our friends into this!" Jim hollered.

"So you'll believe that this whole ordeal isn't just about us three, but about everyone. Everyone's safety is now in jeopardy."

"But we followed your rules, Lander, why do you keep bothering us?"

"Maybe because the further I drive you apart, the closer she gets to me." Storm clouds formed above him, and rain started coming in from the south.

Nova panicked, looking around for the nearest shelter. One drop of rain, all it would take to transform her involuntarily in front of the entire academy.

"What's wrong, Nova? Since we're out on the patio, you won't reach indoors in near enough time. How sad." Roger chuckled. "You're not sugar, you won't melt. So what's the problem?"

Jim took off his grey jacket and threw it over her head; Stav took off his and wrapped it around her waist. She wore her boots, so her feet were safe.

"She looks ridiculous, I hope you know."

Jim glared at the man across from him. "Lander, you don't have to do this!"

"Oh, I do. Watching you two makes me sick, and once she's exposed, she'll need to run away."

The rain pelted on them, and Jim held onto Nova tight, as if his arms were enough to keep any wetness out.

"Don't worry, James Hawkins, I'll take care of her."

Lightning shot around them, hitting the ground in frequent spurts. The younger students rushed around, trying to find a way from this mess, while the older students took action, some guiding the freshmen, the others heading toward one of the weapons' shelters.

They were going to fight him.

"I'll take Nova to the nearest hide out," Jim said over the rain. "You guys follow them!"

Charlotte, Ruse and Stav rushed to aid their fellow students, Jim running toward the cafeteria. When they were inside, he ripped his jacket from the top of her head.

"You're going to get so sick!" Nova aimlessly dried him off, though it did no good.

Jim chuckled, taking the jacket from her hands. "Hey, I'll be fine. I'm just glad _you're_ safe."

"If only for now." She stepped away from him, his dripping clothes creating a puddle. "I'm sorry. Having a friend as complicated as me must make your life… difficult."

Jim went from joking to serious in a millisecond, his eyes scanning over her. She felt self-conscious under his gaze, and avoided his stare. He reached out, as if to touch, then remembered he wasn't fully dry.

"I like complicated, Nova. I like _you_. A lot."

Nova bit her lip, trying to keep from smiling idiotically- and failing. "Oh."

"If I wasn't challenged, to me, there'd be no point."

Nova cocked her head to the side, puzzled by something bubbling inside her. "Then why did you date Leslie? For awhile there, she was some human, like you."

"Because I thought I needed simple. And I don't. I need you. Difficulties and all."

Nova didn't say anything, but stared at him lovingly. They were interrupted by a bolt of lightning that struck through the building, separating them. A large crack formed between them, both stepping away as it slowly grew.

"What do we have here? I thought I said no couple actions." Roger tsked and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Just leave us alone, Roger. This whole fight is pointless, you won't win!" Nova kept away from the opening above them, trying to stay dry.

"I always get what I want, Supernova Finn. It would probably be easier on everyone if you simply listened to me." Roger's body steamed against the rain, his horns protruding from his stark white hair. He extended a hand to Nova, which she rejected. "If you're with me, you won't worry about anything. I could rule; I know you don't want to. I could be the type of king your father dreamed for his daughter. And look- moisture doesn't affect me. Unlike that… human." He sniffed in Jim's direction, he sneered in return. "Life would be simpler."

Nova first stared at his dry hand, then his face. "That's fine; I like things a little complicated." She looked over at Jim, then pushed Roger out of the way.

Sure, Roger's skin was dry; unfortunately, his clothes were soaked.

"N-no!" Nova attempted uselessly to wipe her hands against her shirt, but it was too late. Stars spun around her legs; the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, her white fin flapping slowly toward the water.

Roger let out a roaring laugh. "Open the door, my dear Leslie!"

Jim ran over to keep the doors shut, but Roger simply shocked him to the ground.

People poured in, weapons at the ready, but halted when they saw Nova, fin and all. She pushed herself up, floating above a small bed of stars.

"Oh, no…" Charlotte covered her mouth, looking at each student surrounding her.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing: a sunmaid. A mythical creature, suspended right in front of them.

A/N: I was going to make this over 2500 words long, but decided to split this into 2 separate chapters. More suspense!


	25. Chapter 25

Interstellar Academy

25: Fight

"A year and a half, people, she has been roaming your hallways, attending your classes, pretending she was completely normal. Oh, how she has fooled you."

"And you're so much better," Nova spat, glaring up at him.

"It's evident I'm worse. It always has been." Roger flew down toward her then, reaching for her.

She flung herself away, hovering above her classmates.

"Well, don't just stand there!" called out Jennifer, the gelatinous creature who supposedly hated Charlotte. "We gotta help the girl!"

The other students cheered in agreement. Nova settled herself beside them, her hands now glowing. "Thank you."

Jim stood next to Nova, a gleaming smile crossing his face. "And you thought everyone in this school was a poacher or something."

The students swarmed toward Roger, believing he was alone.

He shocked them all; with the snap of his fingers, clones of himself appeared, their eyes glowing bright red, their hair black, but the same horns stuck out of their hair, though turned upside down.

"Are you serious right now?" Charlotte breathed.

"It's going to be OK. Think of Helena-" Nova paused, then searched the area for a familiar head of red hair. "I'll be back!"

Jim followed behind her, shoving passed his classmates. She flew down to help him out, setting him down just outside the cafeteria.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm finding that stupid girl. I know Roger is the mastermind, but she fooled my best friend, got my other one in jail. I can't let her get away."

Jim grabbed hold of her hand, rain pelting down on them, though neither noticed. He pulled her close, his eyes gazing into hers. "You're not alone."

Nova's heart wanted to beat out of her chest, and she tried her best to remember how to breathe. "I know."

He leaned over, as if to kiss her, though a loud, screeching laugh made him halt. He slowly faced his ex-girlfriend, his eyes narrow.

"You two are seriously pathetic." Leslie crossed her arms. She scanned Nova up and down. "You really think you can defeat me, little girl?"

Nova didn't appear phased by the insult, but looked more steamed by it. Pushing the girl was probably unwise, but Jim knew it fueled her.

She hated being belittled.

"I sure will try." She glanced over at Jim long enough to signal him to leave, then stood her ground- so to speak- against her enemy. "Alright, Leslie."

Leslie was definitely a friend of Roger's; she took a cheap shot using some sort of yellow light force the girl materialized from her very hands, barely giving Nova enough time to fly out of the way. The sunmaid landed to the right, looking around for a vanished Leslie.

"What is your real name?" she called, her eyes pushing passed the smoke to the best of their ability. "Who are you, really?"

"I'm supposed to be first!" Another shot in Nova's blind spot, hitting her square in the back. "You took that from me."

Nova shook off the pain and flew upwards again, hovering above the smoke. When she saw the yellow light reflect against the dust, it gave her cover to move out the crossfire.

"And you think I want to be?" Nova dove down into the debris, tackling Leslie to the ground and pinning her down. "You can have the title, I don't want it!" Her hands were glowing, warm stars surging on the boiling hot pressed against the "human's" wrist.

"How could you have everything, and then want to give it up!" Leslie's eyes filled with tears, and she used her own powers to blast Nova away.

"_**You**__ had __**my**__ everything!_" The sunmaid stayed on the ground, looking up at Leslie with sad, dejected eyes. Then she pushed herself up quickly and fired at the girl with as much force as she could control.

This was it; this was the girl's power that Roger consistently bragged about as if it were his own. Her parents named her appropriately. When the blast died down, the building behind Leslie- empty, to Nova's relief- was completely gone.

No trace of it, not even the foundation untouched.

Leslie stepped back, tripping over herself, landing in a deep puddle.

"Leslie, I don't want to fight…" Nova kept her distance, her hands up in surrender. "I don't have much fight in me. But I'll keep on fighting, if it means…"

"If it means he's safe and happy?" Leslie and Nova stared each other down, something inside them clicking.

They were fighting for the same purpose. They each held someone close to their hearts, and it both kept them going as well as tore them up inside.

The clouds began to disperse, the girls looking up at the blinding sun peaking through.

They must have defeated Roger.

"No…" Leslie clumsily stood up and ran to the cafeteria. She threw open the door, shoving everyone out of her way.

Roger, on his knees, hands tied behind his back, looked up at his companion, his partner in crime.

And smiled.

A genuinely sad, yet happy, smile.

Someone came up behind her and began tying her hands, but she wasn't having that. She wasn't going to be locked up, far away, from her love. She fired her yellow light at her captor and ran over to Roger. She dared anyone with her eyes to get near them. She ripped the ropes off Roger and helped him up.

"They won't take you," she promised.

"They won't take us."

Nova, dry thanks to Stav, stood in front of her. They gazed into each other's eyes, reading the other girl's thoughts. Then Leslie seemed to be consumed by a bright golden light, and in a millisecond they had disappeared.

No one said anything.

No one seemed to want to stop them.

After a few short moments, the crowd shuffled out into the courtyard. The day's classes were cancelled, and the faculty, according to Rayn wanted to hold off for the next week.

In the courtyard a couple days later, Charlotte came running toward her friends, a bright smile on her face.

"They're releasing Helena! The Academy reported Leslie's and Roger's confession, and they're letting her go! I'm so excited." She hugged Nova vigorously. "WE'RE GETTING OUR ROOMMATE BACK."

"Can't. Breathe." Even so, Nova felt just as relieved and glad as her friend. Charlotte loosened her hug on Nova, then looked down at her, worried. "What?"

"Everyone KNOWS. You haven't said anything. Actually… no one has."

"Oh, yes, they have." Nova sighed, lowering her head. "They're also talking to my parents. Someone has to pay for that building I destroyed." The girl leaned away from Charlotte and stared at her hands. "I don't even remember thinking when I did it. I was hardly myself. And I could barely control it."

"But you did," Jim reassured her, smiling sweetly. "You didn't even hurt Leslie. Because you didn't want to."

"No. I didn't. Something… I don't know, we looked at each other, and it was like… we were fighting for the same thing."

After a brief conversation of what they would do for Helena's return- Charlotte was insisting on a party, though her friends found that highly inappropriate- Stav and the twins left, leaving Jim and Nova alone.

Nova bit her lip, then asked nervously. "Do… do I scare you?"

This question shocked the boy, his eyes wide, confused. "Scare me how?"

"I'm destructive, if I'm not in control. Does that scare you?"

Jim's mouth was agape, unsure if she was being serious. Her eyes confirmed she was. "Nova, no. No, you never scare me. Should I be?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

He shook his head, disbelieving this entire subject. "Nova, why do you think I should be scared of you? You harness a lot of power, but you've lived sixteen- almost seventeen- years keeping yourself in check. That's not frightening."

She processed this, saying, "But I could lose control. I could hurt you. Something could happen to you, and it would be my fault-"

He interrupted her.

With a kiss.

They hadn't kissed in months, and the familiar warmth of his lips sent her heart aflutter. She melted into him, though, as always, she pulled away to breathe.

"You still love me."

"Of course I do. I never stopped."

A/N: D'. Anyway. Sorry about all the delaying. I'm working 6 days this next week, and switching to another job. So my weeks are about to pile up. I'll keep trying though. Right now, I'm listening to Perfect by Hedley; it describes Jim so well, it helps to inspire my writing. OH I'm doing a chapter revolving around the fight with Roger! I think it would be exciting to see how that went down, don't you! So if you were anticipating that, just stayed tuned it's coming!


	26. Chapter 26

Interstellar Academy

26: Finns

Helena took her rightful place on the top bunk in her old dorm. The reunion was tearful and joyous, but short lived. She had a lot to catch up on, and she was determined to graduate alongside her friends. The end of the semester rolled around, and everyone shifted from one distraction to another.

Parents' week.

Nova pulled at her hair so vigorously lately, Charlotte and/or Jim would physically hold her hands down.

"They're going to take me home, I can feel it!"

Nova had to start wearing long-sleeved shirts because she began clawing at her own skin- and it was noticeable. Thankfully, due to the winter weather, her outfit was appropriate. No one had ever seen her so anxious.

"No, they're not, you need to calm down." Jim didn't bother to touch her; when she began acting this way, and he'd attempt to comfort her, she'd blow up at him. So he kept his comforts strictly verbal, and wouldn't put a hand on her until she began hurting herself.

"BUT THEY ARE SO ANGRY THAT EVERYONE KNOWS."

After the cool down period following the Roger attack, people flocked her with questions: Why did you hide it? Why didn't you tell anyone? What's it like? Are you parents the same? At an assembly, she begged the dean to swear the students to secrecy- and to simply leave her alone. They abided, and as far as she knew, no one had said a word outside of the Academy.

They all sat in the girls' lounge, attempting to study for finals, but failing. It wasn't due to Nova's rampage, but the end-of-semester blues that crept up on everyone.

Though Nova's ranting wasn't helping with their lack of focus.

"Nova, when was the last time you ate something?" Stav asked, scanning her up and down. She looked malnourished, her wrists nothing but bones.

Nova froze and thought, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Yester… Tues…" The girl looked up at the ceiling, as if the blasting heating vent would allow some clarity.

"Come with me." Jim grasped her hand firmly, giving her no option but to follow. He led the way to the cafeteria, still under minor renovation from the Roger fiasco. He found a peeled apple- she hated the skin- and handed it to her. "Start with this."

She looked at the fruit as if confused by it, then munched on it slowly, nodding her appreciation. They sat down at a deserted table, staying quiet until she finished her food.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry. My parents… they make me so nervous."

"Is it the whole 'universe domination' thing or-"

"Jim, I'm serious!" She glared at him, crossing her arms.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding." Cautiously, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. "Everything will be fine. Just take care of yourself. Please?"

She smiled up at him, calming down. "But I like it better when you take care of me-" She ruined their romantic moment- which, even after they'd gotten back together, they hadn't had much of due to school and helping rebuild the academy- and jolted into an upright position. "OH MY GOODNESS."

"Now what?" Jim rolled his eyes, tired of her outbursts.

"They don't know about you." Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, hoping he'd understand her message. Obviously, he didn't. "Jim. _**MY PARENTS ARE ROYALTY AND THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU**_."

Now it processed. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me, Nova." He breathed out heavily, throwing his head back frustratingly. "Well, looks like they're gonna."

"I'm sorry! With everything that's happened, and my parents coming, I completely forgot to mention it!" She groaned and rested her face in her hands. "This is going to be the best Parents' Week ever."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

The parents arrived and pushed through the crowds to find their children. People seemed to making a path of some sort, however, for a taller, lean couple, as if they were scared.

The man had wavy black hair streaked with gray that shone blue in the sunlight. His eyes were a hard brown and glared down at anyone who dared walk in his way. He was toned, though sagging in certain places from age. The woman linked to his arm had light brown hair also graying and pale skin, beautiful green eyes shining like gems. Whereas her husband frowned at the people, she welcomed them with her smile.

Nova's parents, King Phoenix and Queen Aurora Finn.

The sunmaid's stomach dropped to the ground; she went to grip her arm, but Charlotte grabbed her hand.

"Ah, our little Supernova." The woman came up and hugged the girl lightly, her English accent thicker than her daughter's. "I heard about your little spat from your father! Glad to see you're safe."

'Spat?' Ruse mouthed, Charlotte elbowing him in the gut to shush up.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, mother." She stepped away. "Hi, daddy."

The man smiled down at his daughter, his intimidation factor dissipating into thin air. He made no move to hug her, but simply pat her on the head. "You've gotten yourself in quite the mess, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I guess." She turned to her friends. "I'm going to show my parents around. I'll see you later." She waved and took off, leading her parents as far away from her posse as possible.

"So… who wants to bet her dad has probably split a man in half?" Helena said, utterly serious. The others stared at her shocked, but she just shrugged. "I'm just sayin'. I'm going to find my mother, harass her a little bit."

"We better find our parents too," Charlotte said, arm and arm with her twin. "Let's go."

Stav went to go find his creators as well, leaving Jim alone for only a few brief moments. Morph took this as an opportunity to fly out of Jim's pocket and search aimlessly for Sarah. The woman stood from the crowd, looking a bit frightened. Jim came up to his mom and hugged her gently before asking, "What's up?"

"Did you see those people! They looked like giants."

"Yeah, they're Nova's parents."

Sarah's mouth dropped, and she quickly shook her head. "Wow. Well, let's hope all's well and ends well, hmm?" She kissed her son's cheek. "Now tell me about school!"

Jim spent the entire afternoon with his mother, walking through the maze, eating lunch in the courtyard, taking her on a brief crash-course through some of his more demanding classes. They entered the cafeteria first, finding a nice seat near the center of the room. Other students swarmed in, and his group of friends and their parents piled onto the same long table. Nova and her parents entered last out of them, and she took a spot near Jim, her parents sitting beside and across from her.

"This place is so big!" Aurora exclaimed, giggling and breaking the ice. The parents began a long and drawn out conversation about how large the campus was, and their children took this as an opportunity to talk amongst themselves.

"So… did you tell your parents?" Charlotte whispered, leaning close to Nova.

Nova shook her head violently at the question, not daring to say a word.

Jim scoffed and leaned away, frustrated.

"Alright, order! Order, now!" The dean stood at a tall podium over looking the crowd, beating the wood with his palm. "Glad to see everyone's excited! I imagine your children has informed you of our recent… mishap."

No one really knew what to call it. Not a lot of people had gotten hurt during the fight, except Nova and Jim. Just a lot of property damage Nova's parents had to pay for. They were furious- and even more so she wasn't careful enough with hiding her secret- but they'd obviously calmed down.

"At any rate, we pulled through that hectic mess and even started fresh! Thanks to all the students and staff who helped rebuild this school!" The crowd cheered then quickly died down. "Onto dinner and some festivities we're holding out doors. It's bonfire night!"

The room roared with conversation then, and the sound of chatty eaters and clanging silverware was nice compared to the yelling and screaming Nova would get from her parents.

Or the yelling and screaming she'd be doing, once they killed her.

They shuffled outside, the parents still talking, the teenagers still awkwardly quiet. There were two bonfires going on, as large as the one they'd seen during freshmen year. They circled around the furthest one- it was less crowded- and the conversations died down.

"Oh, Supernova, let's go by the ocean!" The girl nodded and was pulled away by her mother, her father following close behind. She looked back at Jim, as if she was telling him good-bye.

They were comfortably silent, until Nova let out a heaving sigh.

"You've been looking distracted all day, Supernova," said her father, resting a firm hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? I know we don't talk much, and I know we've been distracted, but you can talk with us. I hope you realize that."

Her father was never this compassionate. So stating this news frightened and disheartened her even more.

"I'll just say it, then." She pressed her lips together, forming the best sentence to break this information. "I'm… seeing someone."

She allowed the words to melt in their heads. Her father's brow lowered dramatically against his forehead.

"I know… that you want a certain husband for me, but you have to realize that I'm seventeen and socializing and it's just-" She groaned. "Look, he's so amazing. And he treats me right, even when I mess up royally- and that's a lot. He cares about me, and he's super smart, like a prodigy, daddy." Her mother she didn't want to appeal to nearly as much as she did her father. "He's sweet and loving, and he was the one… who rescued me. Two years ago, remember?"

Her father couldn't look angry at those words.

"Ah, he's the brown haired one over there. The human?" Her father eyed the boy, who flinched at his gaze. He turned to the ocean, thinking hard.

"I don't approve, I won't lie." Her heart thumped and died in her chest. "However, you are obviously happy with him. And he did save your life. I imagine that the rescue two years ago wasn't the last time?"

Nova's expression softened into something else, something full of love and happiness. "No. He's saved me time and again, even when I don't deserve it. He's truly something else."

At his daughter's expression, he smiled, looking at his wife. The older woman chuckled, holding a hand against her mouth. "Honey, isn't there exceptions to everything?"

The man nodded at his wife, then looked up at Jim again. "Human boy, come here, please!"

"DADDY NO!" Nova attempted- and failed- to hide under her thin arms.

Jim took his place beside Nova, confused and rightfully frightened. "Yes, sir? I mean, your highness- majesty."

"You aren't the type of man I would approve my daughter being with, in the slightest. You are human, which alone makes your relationship stressful. Though… you two don't look distracted by this difference."

The young couple dared a glance at each other, and smiled brightly. Jim turned to her father and said, with all the strength he could muster, "It was never a distraction. When I first met her, it seemed natural. Everything about her is like breathing for me- it's every day yet extraordinary and keeps me going." Jim's gaze fell on his girlfriend lovingly. "SHE keeps me going."

The other's approached the four carefully, their pace slow.

"It's safe," Nova said, having relaxed with Jim at her side.

"I thought I was going to have to plan my son's funeral." Sarah giggled, trying to stifle it when Jim glared back at her.

"MOM," he growled under his breath.

"Oh, no, Ms. Hawkins. Your son wouldn't have been our first choice for our daughter, at the initial glance, but…" His eyes glanced at his wife before he continued. "But there are exceptions to everything."

"OK, enough with this ooey-gooey stuff!" Helena hollered, heading back to the bonfire. "Seriously, I did NOT get out of jail for all this. I don't got time for that!"

"Good old Helena," Charlotte said, linking arms with her twin and her mother. "Ruining everything."

They laughed and headed back to the bonfire, Jim holding Nova in place for just a moment. "Why did you tell them?"

"Because, it wasn't fair to you or them if you were a secret. And… I love you, so I don't want you to be a secret." She blushed, gazing up at the stars sheepishly to avoid his gaze.

His smile went from warm to mischievous, and he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips. She backed away, pressing a hand to his face. "Jim, my PARENTS."

Her dad was glaring at them- mostly Jim- but made no move toward them.

"It was worth a shot, right?"

A/N: Fuck me. I forgot about the Roger fight chapter. Next one, I promise. It's 2:40 am here, and I'm just dog-ass tired. Good night.


	27. Chapter 27

Interstellar Academy

27: Fight (Part II)

Jim rushed back to join his classmates and friends. Grabbing a dropped flintlock, he pushed his way passed the crowd formed at the cafeteria entrance to find his one and only target.

The black-haired Roger clones were firing mercilessly around him, but he ignored them. When he found his mark, he aimed his gun and shot, nailing the man's shoulder. Roger gave a growl in pain and landed on the ground, flat footed. He scanned the area for the person who would dare aim at him, finding Jim in a second.

He stood up and approached the human slowly. "Ah, just like last year, yes?"

Jim didn't answer, just glared angrily.

"Don't be like that, James. We can't all win."

"I know, but I will. I don't like to lose."

Roger chuckled, shaking his head. "Yes, that makes two of us, doesn't it?"

The demon pushed himself from the ground and into the air, summoning all the power he could and throwing it at his nemesis. Jim barely moved out of the way in time, and it narrowly missed his leg.

It just healed!

Jim fired shots at Roger relentlessly, though it did no good. Though he got a few good hits, they didn't seem to phase him in the slightest. In fact, with each hit, as he grew more frustrated, he seemed to grow more powerful.

"You can't defeat me, and I will get what I want!" Roger scoffed, resting his feet on the ground again.

The fighting had built up around them, though neither boy noticed.

"You can have that blasted red head. She's been on my tail since I met her." Roger rolled his eyes at the thought of Leslie. "She's quite annoying, but useful. She does whatever I wish, no question. A good girl, though pestering."

Even though Jim held no positive feelings toward Leslie at this point, he couldn't help but get angry at the way Roger referred to her. Not like a friend, or even a person, but a simple asset he could throw away whenever he pleased.

"Are you telling me you're just using her?"

"Of course!" Roger laughed at his question, as if were the most tedious thing someone could ask him. "What else would I do with her?"

"Don't you think that if a girl was willing to go through that much trouble for you, then it's more than just some… some agreement?"

"It is- for her. But don't you treat Nova the same? Just using her?"

That tore right through Jim, and he fired a blast right at Roger's chest; the demon doubled over in evident pain, but still looked up at the boy, right into his eyes, his yellow eyes shining now knowing his weakness.

"You don't love her. Why would you go to some other girl if you truly loved her? No, you have ulterior motives for the little sunmaid. So just hand her off to me, it will solve all your problems. If she wasn't around, you could be with someone normal, who actually cares about you. Probably a human you could grow old with instead of some girl you'd have to consistently hide from the world. Do you want to hide the love of your life?"

Jim's heart broke at the thought of Nova never being around.

Yes, she made his life complicated. They would have to hide from the rest of the world and the rest of the universe. She was clumsy, and thoughtless. Though very smart, she had no sense about her half the time.

But she was loving, sweet, intelligent and incredibly beautiful inside and out. She saved the life of this monster, despite all the hurt and pain he'd put her through. She was compassionate and understanding.

Nova drove him absolutely insane, but in the end he truly did love her.

The fact Roger felt he had a right to question that angered Jim.

"She's not some prize, Roger. And I'm not giving her up for anything, especially to the likes of you."

Roger aimed a firebomb at Jim, and it grazed the boys shoulder. He stared the boy down, his eyebrows dangerously low on his face. "What is she to you! Why do you fight for her, now, after everything!"

"The same reason Leslie is outside, fighting for you! Because I love her!"

Roger stopped in his tracks, as if the words were unfamiliar to his ears. His eyes softened, and his scowl turned into a simple frown.

Something was sinking in. Jim decided to roll with it.

"When you care about someone that's what you do, you fight for them. Leslie is outside fighting the love of MY life to fight the love of HERS. YOU. She'd do anything for you, don't you see that? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Jim sighed softly. "What girl would go through such measures, if she weren't in love? Think about it. And you have to care for her in return, even though you believe all you care about is for Nova and her power. You wouldn't have dealt with her all this time if you didn't."

Roger opened his mouth to protest, but shut it quickly. He had no fight left in him, Jim could see it. He was growing tired, keeping the clones alive and defending himself, even if it was just some human.

"You love Leslie too. But you're so hell bent on power, you don't let yourself realize it."

Roger dropped to his knees, his eyes showing how evidently tired he was. Jim came up by him and just stood beside him, not saying another word. Roger looked up then, his expression sad.

"Does it also hurt, being in love with someone?"

"Sometimes. But it's looking past that hurt to see all the wonderful things."

Roger just nodded. After a moment, Jim took this as an opportunity to bind the villain. He found some loose robe and tied the boy's wrists together. The clones disappeared into thin air as all of Roger's power vanished. He lowered his head to the ground, his body dangerously still.

That was when the girls walked in.

Jim stared into Nova's eyes with so much love and passion, and she returned his gaze just as intensely.

Yes, she was worth fighting for. No matter how horrible things seemed to be, he would always fight for her, in the end.

At this point, it wasn't even a choice. It was inevitable.


	28. Chapter 28

Interstellar Academy

28: New Year's

A/N: This is probably going to be a weak chapter, and quite long. Just thought I'd make this, it's been running in my head for a little while.

Jim set his belongings on his new bed- well, it was new as far as beds go, since he hadn't gotten any new furniture until the burn down of the old Benbow Inn- and then crashed onto his pillows. He slept for a few hours before getting up just in time for a dinner rush.

The Benbow Inn before wasn't so much of an inn as it was a diner. Calling the building an "inn" gave it more of a homey feel. But when rebuilding it, his mother decided that renting out rooms would be a more surefire way of having some money around, lest a tragedy happen again.

Helping his mother get orders ready and clear out the room was a harder job than he remembered. In fact, Jim didn't remember the Benbow being this popular, even during the holidays.

As the remaining guests stayed to chat amongst themselves, Jim took it upon himself to clean up around them and wash the dishes. Exhausted, he fell asleep once more and dreamed through the night.

Waking up the next morning, he got a call downstairs, B.E.N. having answered.

"Oh, Jimmy! You're awake!" The robot was on their phone, his hand pressed against the receiver. "I guess the time difference is pretty significant on Solara, huh-"

"S-Solara?" Jim tried to reach for the phone, but B.E.N. played keep-away and placed it against his "ear" again.

"Oh, just leave a message? What would you like to tell him?"

"B.E.N., give it back!"

"OK, well, here he is." B.E.N. winked and gave him a thumbs up, sauntering away as if he'd accomplished something amazing.

"Hello?" Jim said, annoyed and breathless.

_"Is this a bad time? It's afternoon here; I forgot about the time differences."_

"No! No, you're fine." He pressed the phone as close to his ear as humanly possible, relishing in her sweet voice.

_"Just making sure."_ She giggled. _"You aren't much of an early bird."_

"It just depends." Jim cleared his throat. "But what did you call about?"

_"To say Merry Christmas!"_ She blew what sounded like a small horn into the phone.

"You guys celebrate Christmas?" Jim asked, shocked.

_"No, but I know you do, so… er…"_ She felt awkward.

"Merry Christmas, Nova." He smiled softly. "I hope you have a good holiday."

_"You too! I'll see you around. Good-bye!"_

Returning the salutation, he hung the phone up and leaned against the wall. He wondered what it would be like to spend a holiday with her parents. Then shuddered at the thought. What if they celebrated the season by blasting planets to smithereens?

"Good morning, Jim." Sarah came hustling into the room wearing her usual garb, hair and clothes clean and sharp. She tied her apron around her small waist. "Ready to start the holiday rush?"

"You know it."

They spent half the morning decorating the place, the other half cooking and preparing food for hungry guests that would no doubt swarm in.

The first of them was Doctor Delbert Doppler and his wife Amelia. In her hands she held two of the triplets, Doppler cradling the other and his son.

"Ah, Jim! Nice to see you home." The Doctor looked like he was struggling a bit to carry his children.

"Glad to see you too!" Jim walked over and offered to hold the boy, cradling him carefully. He took this as an opportunity to sit down as well; he was tired already of the holidays, and they barely even started! The boy fussed a bit but then settled in the young man's arms, falling instantly back to sleep.

They discussed, quietly, school and all that was going on in the boy's life, then switched to any and all discoveries the Doctor has made. Though their age greatly differentiated, they still held an intellectual bond- and the adventures of Treasure Planet definitely strengthened their relationship.

Jim smiled over at Captain Amelia, the woman preoccupied with the two girls in her hands. "How ya been, Captain? Other than, you know, the obvious."

The woman laughed heartedly. "I'm toughing it out. But I won't bore you with my scars." She winked at the boy then became extra attentive with her babies again.

The lunch rush came in quickly, and Jim had to hand back the baby boy to help B.E.N. and his mother. Morph took his place relaxing him, turning into a raddle he could snuggle with while he slept. There was dancing, singing, laughing, and even a fight Jim had to break up. The afternoon was crazy, followed by an even crazier night. By the end of the day, as he was escorting the doctor and captain to the door and sending his farewells, he was so dog tired he just about fell asleep on the wooden floor.

"Thanks for everything, Jim," said his mother, pulling a small present from behind his back.

"Ah, mom, I forgot to get you-"

She kissed his forehead and smiled sweetly. "You don't have to, and I wouldn't want you to. Now open it."

Tentatively, not wanting to ruin whatever was inside, he unwrapped the box. Inside was a locket.

That looked like Captain Flint's map.

Jim stared at it in awe, the scale sized map shimmering gold in the low light of the room. Tears brimmed his eyes and he looked at his mom with warm, loving eyes. "I love it."

They hugged, she squeezing him as tightly as possible. "You make me so proud, James Hawkins. You mean the world to me."

"So do you. I love you."

For the rest of the night, Jim stared at the locket, now around his neck, wondering what pictures he'd place inside it. Then he had an idea. Getting onto his computer, he searched for the two images that meant the most to him.

The first, his mother in a night gown when he was younger, reading him the story that eventually became his reality and changed his life. The second, the doctor and captain having one of their secret moments when they initially started being together. Lastly, he put in his locket a picture of Nova when she was helping here at the inn a year and a half ago, her hair messy and dirt on her face.

These were real to him. These were everything.

A/N: Told you it was cheesy! But I liked it, this is probably my favorite. Just a year and a half to go before Jim and Nova finally graduate. I'm wondering if there's anyway I could continue after that, probably with one shots. Got any ideas? Shoot them my way! R&R appreciated!


	29. Chapter 29

Interstellar Academy

29: Junior .5

A/N: Is it obvious I'm giving up on titling these?

When the Academy's ship docked and students flocked out, he searched for his girlfriend that he'd spent a month away from. When he found her, instead of braided hair, she wore her black wavy locks down, tumbling down her back and ending neatly just passed her waist. She excitedly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, pulled away by her two roommates.

"You seriously ruin everything," Jim said, more to Helena than to Charlotte.

The blond haired, pink skinned alien shrugged, dragging the tiny sunmaid to the girls' dorm.

Stav and Ruse placed a reassuring hand on their friend's shoulder. "Hey, man, look. In a year and half, they can't really intervene anymore."

This saddened Jim just a bit. "I know. Which should make me happy, but it doesn't."

"AW!" Stav hugged his human friend tightly, his silver arms constricting the boy's airways. "He does love us!"

"S-Stav, please!" Jim gasped, gulping air once he'd been released. "Of course I do. I don't stick around you guys for giggles."

"Well, you do, but we get what you're saying."

Dinner that night went by slowly, and once they were dismissed, Jim's little group, bundled up, strolled by the beach.

Jim kept Nova behind, his hand firmly around hers.

"I had a good holiday," he said, keeping his voice low enough for her to hear.

"Did you? I'm glad to hear that." She squeezed his hand, her mitten rubbing against his glove. "What did you do?"

The conversation was comfortably casual, and they faded into their own little world built for two. The others had decided to hit the hay, but they wanted to stick by each other for just a little bit longer. They sat on a patch of grass just beyond the beach, finding it warmer than the sand. Jim took this opportunity to hold his girlfriend close to him. She didn't protest, but leaned into him and sighed heavenly.

"I'm glad you had a good break," she said softly, her voice drifting.

"Did you?"

She didn't say anything for awhile, and he began thinking she'd fallen asleep on him. Then she said, "It could have been better. Cassie was annoying. But, you know, brothers."

He didn't, but never said so. "What did he do?"

"He was just a pest. Mostly… about my boyfriend…"

"Ah." Even though they were twins, from what Nova said, Cassie liked referring to himself as the "older" twin, and talked to her as such.

"Yeah. He just… he wouldn't let it go. He at first thought you didn't know about my being a sunmaid, and then thought you were crazy for sticking around…" Something hinted at the end of her sentence, though she made inclination to speak further.

So Jim edged her on. "Alright, and?"

"Well…" She gave a grudging and pushed away to look him dead in the eye. "What do you think about it? I can't help but ask, and I'm sorry but…"

"I'm crazy, but not because I'm with you. I'm crazy because I'm… well… me." He winked at her, which lightened her mood. "You keep me stable, so I don't be as reckless as I could be. I mean, you're probably the crazy one in our relationship."

Her mouth hung open at his statement, believing he was being serious, until a ghostly smirk snaked onto his face. She tackled him to the ground, pinning his arms down. "Oh, really?"

His eyebrows furrowed playfully. "Of course. What girl sticks around a guy who releases prisoners, triggers planet explosions and develops other-worldly enemies? Crazy girls."

She pressed her chest against his, their noses touching and her eyes unmoving. He took this opportunity to flip her over, dominating over her.

"You cheated!" she said, squirming under him.

"Nah, you're just easily distracted by my handsome voice and charm."

"Don't flatter yourself."

She managed to release herself from his grip, though he still hovered over her. She rested on her elbows, using one hand to pull him down close to her and kiss him. He returned the favor instantly, tilting his head and using a free hand to hold her chin steady. The kiss didn't last long; the cold weather made their lips numb. He pulled away first, slowly, as if he didn't want this moment to stop.

"You're looking at me strangely," she commented, sitting up fully now.

"I was just thinkin'. About… a year and a half from now. Stav brought it up."

"What about it?"

He paused as he thought, wondering how to go about this subject. He assumed just saying it would be best. "What are you planning to do? After we graduate?"

She seemed surprised by the question, but went with it. "Well, whatever my parents have planned for me. Unless something else came up."

"Like what?" He urged, something inside him guessing what it could be.

"You know… if you wanted me to come with you. Where ever you went."

This relieved Jim. "Yeah. I would love that, actually."

Sharing one last kiss before allowing the night to end, Jim strongly believed that he'd probably found his balance in life, that things were finally going to go as planned.

But his adventures two years ago taught him otherwise, and it seemed he needed a little reminder.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: I'm going to skip to their senior year. There isn't much else for me to offer for their junior year. So here we are, in the final chapters, leading up to an ending I hope will make everyone happy.

Interstellar Academy

30: Senior

Jim put on his cadet uniform, it feeling strange against his skin. Nova's looked similarly, only she adorned a crisp white dress skirt instead of pants. The seniors stood in line, ready to give the orders for the week they were on the ship, instead of receiving them.

Nova, Charlotte and Helena, considered the strongest females in their class, led the girls' chores while their friends, Jim, Stav and Ruse, bossed around the boys.

The last semester of their junior year set them up for what was expected during senior year. The training became more vigorous and physical, but their little group managed to keep up and then some, proving themselves worthy to continue into their final semesters.

During the summer, the seniors were encouraged to become as physically and mentally trained as humanly possible, since this upcoming year was going to weed out the rest of those who didn't deserve to graduate. It was going to be a treacherous journey, but they were prepared.

They landed a week later, the seniors marching out first before the rest of the crew. Jim led the boys while Nova led the girls. They didn't even look at each other the whole time, focused on the task at hand- leading. The class was to meet in the dining hall, where the dean wanted to speak with them as a whole.

Sitting down, the uniformity ceased and the chattering began. Nova reached subtly for her boyfriend's hand, and he grasped hers in return.

"You guys still haven't spent a break together?" Ruse asked, surprised.

"We didn't have time this summer," Jim answered, caressing Nova's knuckles thoughtlessly with his thumb.

"He was helping out his mother, and I was with my brother, traveling."

"You two are seriously the worst couple in existence," said Helena, huffing and turning away.

In Ruse's direction.

All of them have been waiting for the two of them to make a move for the past three years. And you know what they say: third year's the charm.

"Seniors," the dean boomed over the microphone, his expression utterly serious. "I know that this next year will probably change the lot of you. And there's a chance very few of you will… make it any further." An ominous hush consumed them. This news, they knew. Jim and Nova snuck glances at each other, silently promising to stick it out to the end. "But times are also becoming grave, and if you do happen to leave because of that, know this: you made it farther than many would have bothered to attempt. For that, we are proud of you."

Nova knew exactly what grave times he was referring to. Her parents were losing control over their planets, and anarchy was building, verging upon war. If things got any worse, people would get drafted.

Jim would be one of them.

Once he turned eighteen, he signed the waiver that allowed him to be pulled from school if the need for able-bodied men grew. Though it broke her heart, the thought of him possibly going to war, she knew he would do it, if it meant keeping her safe.

"Let us, however, stayed focused on our goals, and stick right to them. Whatever path calls for you after this year, know that your time here was not a waste, and you will leave a trail of gold behind each and everyone of you. You are dismissed."

After dinner, the seniors were allowed to change to more casual clothing. Pulling on a pair of jeans and black t-shirt, Jim joined his fellow seniors at the beach for a small party. He wrapped his arms slowly around Nova, surprising her at first before she leaned back into him.

"I have two goals after graduating," Jim said softly, the mumbles of his fellow students fading into the air.

"Oh? What are they?"

"To captain a whole fleet of ships, first off."

Nova smiled back at him, her eyes glowing. "And the second?"

His smile was warm but scheming. "You'll find out eventually."

Someone had brought a guitar and improvised some local tunes. The young adults sang and clapped along, some of them even gathering around a bonfire to dance. Helena, tying back her hair, grabbed hold of Ruse's hands and pulled him to the center. The green alien, though evidently embarrassed, gleamed at the attention from his pink-skinned companion.

Nova's heart warmed as she watched them, glad that someone finally put one foot forward. She rested her head on Jim's shoulder, closing her eyes and allowing herself to melt into the moment.

"You're thinking about something," he said softly.

"Just you. And the upcoming year."

"Me too. And afterward."

"Mmmhmm…"

He held up her hand to his lips and pecked it lightly, sending a jolt through her, causing her to open her eyes. She gazed into his eyes longingly, but also with a sadness he couldn't quite comprehend.

"And to think," she whispered, so only he could hear her, "we met over three and a half years ago."

"The best three years of my life." He breathed heavily, as if inhaling everything going on around him to commit to memory. "When I first saw you, my whole world went into slow motion. All I saw, all I wanted to see, was you. You were stunning and beautiful, and your eyes when you looked at me for the first time were so wide and full of wonder. When we touched that first time, when I caught you, my skin felt electric. I still get that way." He looked back at her now, so she could truly see the truth in his words. "You fill me with so much emotion and so many feelings, I can't understand them half the time. But the other half tells me to just roll with it, and it doesn't matter if I understand right then because it still makes sense. To be with you and feel this way, it's natural, like breathing."

Nova's heart just about leapt out of her chest, his words hit right home. She felt the exact same way, breathless and yet alive around him. Though it was always harder for her to voice something so serious aloud. "I love you."

"I love _you_," he said, as if making a promise.

So the year progressed quickly. By the end of week one, they had developed enough bruises and sores to break a world record. As their days turned into weeks, the problems started to ensue.

People disappeared, students stopped showing up for class without even getting admitted from the school. Panic ensued all over campus, though the faculty tried to play stupid about the entire thing.

"Who do you think is doing it?" asked Charlotte in a low voice, as if she was trying to keep a secret.

"I don't want to think about it," Nova said, holding her stomach and pushing her tray away.

"They say the culprit is a fellow student, a senior," continued the blue haired alien, her eyes shining with scandal. "I mean, wouldn't that be weird, to know you could be sitting right next to a kidnapper?"

"Ch-Charlotte!" Nova said, her body beginning to shake from nerves.

"Hey, it's true."

"James Hawkins." A large mass formed a dark shadow just behind Jim, and he turned around to glare at whoever dared call him by his real name.

It was an officer, dangling a set of handcuffs.

"Can I help you?" Though the attempted to act nonchalant, inside he was screaming. He hadn't- knowingly- broken any laws since he'd been with Silver. What could he have done?

"You're under arrest." Another officer rolled up, using his large mechanic arms to pull Jim out of his seat while the other restrained him. "For murder."


	31. Chapter 31

Interstellar Academy

31: Prison

Jim sat in his cell, allowing the day's events to roll through his head. Was this reality? Was he dreaming, could that be a possibility?

No.

He felt wide awake and alert, unfortunately.

He couldn't erase the expression of absolute terror written all over Nova's face, filling him with so much shame he wished to simply collapse into some dream like state. He curled his legs to his chest and rested his head on his knees.

Murder.

How could anyone suspect him of such a thing? Had he killed people in the past? Technically, yes. There were those pirates he'd doomed three years ago, back when his and Nova's relationship was new and he was still out to prove himself. There was just cause for what they did! They were being attacked, mercilessly, by those pirates. Their entire crew would have been blown to bits, had him and Nova not worked together to destroy their ship and thus sending them whirling to their death.

However, there was only one student he would ever murder, and at this point, he probably wouldn't. Roger was in the past now, he hoped.

Was it possible Roger was behind this entire kidnapping fiasco? Was this another ploy to separate him from Nova? After the event with Leslie, Jim highly doubted it.

The person he'd apparently murdered was a girl, junior, human. Charlotte had been Sierra's mentor during the girl's freshmen year, since they were both on the swim team. When the girl had disappeared, Charlotte believed Sierra's ex-boyfriend was the most possible suspect, as did authorities. Even after the man's alibi reigned true, Charlotte couldn't let it go that he had something to do with it.

The reason they suspected Jim was because a pin tool he kept with him as well as the locket his mother had given him last Christmas were found at the scene of the crime. Jim had lost those items a month prior to being arrested, and eventually gave up searching for them, disappointed.

This was definitely not how he expected to find them again.

He racked his brain for where ever he could have possibly left them for someone to take, but his mind came up with nothing. He kept those items in his room; who would steal them there?

"Jim?" The familiar, whisper sent thrills through him, and he stood up to wave through his cell. The small space was made of some type of uncomfortably cold metal, lit only by a single, dim bulb. The gate was also cold, almost painfully so- but he thought this since he'd been down here for almost two weeks.

"Nova, I'm over here."

Her footsteps quickened, and she reached out to hold his freezing hand. She grasped it between both of hers and breathed on it.

"Jim…" She pressed her forehead to his fist, prayed silently, then looked him dead in the eye. "I know you didn't do it."

"Well, that at least makes two of us."

"We're doing everything we can to clear your name. You don't deserve to be in here." Her voice choked, which tore at his heartstrings. "You're not some ruthless killer. You would never do the horrible things they'd accuse you of. Helena is working harder than all of us, after all the effort you put into clearing her name."

"Really? I thought she hated me." Joking aside, he was glad to see his girlfriend's face after spending so much time apart. He snaked his other hand through the gate and she held them both to her face, hoping to warm him up.

"No one hates you." She dropped his hands and reached through the gate to hold his face, caressing his soft cheeks and chapped lips. "Are they taking care of you?"

"What do you think?" He turned his head to kiss her right palm, resting his nose against it. Her soft touch was definitely a much-needed boost. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything," she said, pressing herself against the bars.

"I'm scared, Nova." His eyes brimmed tears he hadn't dared to let bridge over, and still wouldn't.

Even so, she took her thumbs and wiped them away. "Me too. But if we work together, and have faith, we'll make it through. I'm going to get you out of here."

"Miss, it's time for you to leave," called an officer impatiently.

Reluctantly, she retreated from the gate and took a step back. "I love you."

"I love _you_."

Jim watched as her small figure disappeared behind the large metal door that kept him separated from the world. Now he was alone with his thoughts.

The past two weeks have been a living hell. They bombarded him with questions, unbelieving of any answer he'd given them, and threw out every accusation and every piece of evidence they could, if it meant he'd fess up to his "crimes". Jim stayed steadfast and in control, not allowing their mind tricks to chip his already fragile and confused mind away. He could tell just by looking at them when they were bluffing; he was a prodigy for crying out loud.

Nova spent those two weeks going through each piece of newsprint that had as many facts about the story as they were allowed to publish. She'd started a journal, which she added to each night after school. Helena, with her boyfriend Ruse, was right alongside her, and Charlotte joined in when she wasn't dealing with swim team.

Strangely enough, Stav always seemed too busy to assist in their search, but Nova never questioned it. She felt confident that if Stav had the time, he'd help out too.

Even so, whenever they talked about it at lunch, he seemed almost irritable, as if he'd grown tired of the subject. This was their friend they were talking about, their friend in jail! Whenever Helena was locked up, all Stav discussed was piles of evidence they could use to get her released.

Why was Jim a different story?

"Did you and Stav ever fight?" Nova sat down opposite Jim, tearing off pieces of thick bread she'd snuck in and feeding it to him.

"Yes. When you two were…" He cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

"Oh. I'm sorry." The air grew thick, awkward. She said, to change the subject somewhat, "That wouldn't be a reason he would want you in jail, would it?"

"I doubt it. It seemed he'd moved on from it. I had."

"He's just been making up every excuse not to help us out, and he seems irritated whenever we talk about it around him. So I thought I'd ask." She took out another piece of bread and began feeding him; they weren't giving him enough food, apparently, the way he scarfed down each tiny morsel. "Where else could you have left your belongings?"

"Just my room. So I don't see why…" Jim leaned away, his mind racing. "My room."

"Alright…" Nova raised a puzzled eyebrow.

"Nova, there's only two people who could have access to my room. Ruse and-"

"Stav." Nova's brain clicked, finishing his sentence.

When she left, she went straight toward the boys' dorm, determined. She stormed right in, without knocking, and went straight toward the robot. Ruse wasn't around it seemed; probably with his girlfriend. Stav looked surprised but not angry with Nova's presence. Though her expression made him wary.

"Yes, Nova?"

"You did it. You framed him."

Stav stared at her, astonished, then smirked as if he were impressed by her detective skills.

"Of course his girlfriend would figure it out, right?" Stav rolled his eyes and stood up, towering over her menacingly. She stepped back, though she lost her balance in her retreated and stumbled over herself. He used this chance to lock his metal hands around her thin wrists. "Come with me. I have an ultimatum to settle."

With that, he marched outside, dead of night, the moon swallowing them in a blinding silver light.

"Students and faculty of Interstellar Academy, I wish for your attention!" He'd placed them in the courtyard, the center of the school. People peeked out of their windows and doors and stopped in their tracks in wonder. "Recently, there has been a murder case that revolves around my friend. I would like to announce that it was not he, but I, who murdered Sierra and framed him." Though he was confessing to a crime, he didn't look at all mournful or regretful act.

What was his deal? Nova stared at him with frightened, alert eyes.

"And it was all for her."

He wasn't referring to Nova. No, he was pointing to someone else entirely- a now approaching, confused Charlotte.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: TREKKIE! I love seeing your name in my e-mail, thanks for reading, sweetiepie :3 I'm glad you liked Chapter 28, it's seriously the favorite out of all the ones I've written. And to anyone reading but not saying anything, thanks! I know you're supporting me, even though you're not reviewing. I CAN FEEL YOUR LOVE TRUST IN THAT.

Interstellar Academy

32: Ultimatum

Nova watched as a few guards left and the others stayed. She prayed this meant they were going to free Jim. She wanted to set her hands alight, but that would simply melt his; sure, he wouldn't have the ability to use his hands, but what else could be in his arsenal? She didn't want to do anything to set him off.

Charlotte slowly approached them, shaking.

"Charlotte, no, stay back-"

Stav took a hard, silver hand against Nova's face, not strong enough to crack her jaw, but it made sparks fly through her head. The girl's face hardened and she glared at him, gritting her sore teeth.

"Stav, you didn't have to do that. But why? Why would you do such a horrible thing?" Charlotte looked so feeble and small.

"Because I wanted your attention. And what a better way than to take away someone close to you, like, say, someone you mentored?"

"But Sierra was totally innocent with this! I told you, I'm not interested, why won't you just let it go!"

Nova began to realize that Stav's behavior, already strange for a robot, was almost obsessive. He acted this way with her as well, pushy and angry. Something about Charlotte's rejection must have pushed him over the edge.

"Because it's not fair. And you know what?" Stav shifted his free hand into a flintlock and pointed right under Nova's chin. Nova had to restrain herself from hurting him; one false move, and he could bring harm to someone else other than her. She wouldn't forgive herself if that happened. "I'll blow her head off if you don't give me a chance."

"_**Stav!**_" It was Jim's heavenly voice, and Nova searched frantically for his beautiful face. Unshaven with scruffy hair, she still felt safe knowing he was nearby. "Don't take it out on her, let Nova go!"

"Oh no. See, I kill two birds with one stone. Not only will this break _Charlotte's _heart, but also _yours_!" Stav cackled, pushing Nova onto the ground, still pointing the gun at her face. "Unless… Charlotte wants to give _us_ a try?"

Jim's fists curled, his nails digging into his palms. Charlotte simply stood there, still stunned by the events unfolding before her eyes.

"What about the other girls?" Jim called out. "Where are they?"

"Locked up, hood rat," Stav said, waving the question away. "And once Charlotte agrees to my terms, I'll gladly let them go. But refuse, and I'll rid of them, starting with… this one." Nova tried to crawl backwards, but Stav kicked her, making her double over.

"No, please, stop!" Charlotte cried, holding her chest as if she were in dire pain. "Look, I-I'll do whatever you want. I'll give us a chance. Just don't hurt anyone else, please!" Tears ran down her green cheeks, her black eyes shining as bright as a dying star.

"You don't mean that…" Stav sighed, tapping his gun to his forehead. "You know what? I don't feel like games. I want to see if you're serious." His hand searched the crowd, finding a small freshmen boy. He screeched whenever the gun pointed at him.

"NO!"

Nova stopped thinking altogether, and tackled Stav to the ground. The gun shot off, and everything went still for awhile. Stav's bright eyes were wide as he rolled Nova off of him, revealing the wound he'd created. It bled profusely, and she uselessly held her hands to it, as if they were enough to stop the blood.

The authorities used this opportunity to shoot Stav down. His wiring protruded from his shell, and he fell right beside Nova.

"I know you didn't want to hurt anyone," Nova said softly, a trickle of blood running out of her mouth and onto the ground. "I know you're just heartbroken, and you didn't know how to deal."

Stav just stared at her, though she was positive he heard her.

"How do you do that? How do you feel? Can you tell me?"

His mouth moved slowly, and his mechanical brain was trying hard to function at this point. Then he said, "My master… he programmed me to feel and react like a human does. B-but, I've seen him heartbroken and… and he did this. He hurt others because he- he hurt."

"I'm sorry, Star Navigator," Nova said through a cough. "I'm sorry, but that's wrong."

"I-I-I know." Sparks flew out of him, and he finally shut down.

"Nova!" Charlotte knelt over her, taking off her blazer and pressing it against Nova's abdomen.

"AH!" Nova tried to push Charlotte's hand away but the very idea of moving caused to cringe. "N-not so hard."

Jim joined them, tearing off his shirt and taking Charlotte's place. "Dammit, why do you have to save everyone?"

"I get it from you." Even though she felt like her insides were ready to explode, she still managed to smile up at her partner. "A-and you cursed."

"I do it all the time, stupid, you're just not around."

Paramedics forced Jim and Charlotte to leave Nova's side so they could treat her. They rushed her to the hospital, where the blood she lost was replaced and she was patched up, though they were convinced they almost lost her.

In her room, Jim had fallen asleep holding her hand, and there was a table piled with gifts, a rather nicely wrapped one from the freshman she'd saved. She shook Jim awake, and he muttered some obscenities before looking up at her with a lazy smile.

"Hi, Sunshine." She stroked his cheek, now clean shaven and soft. "If I'm not sleeping, neither are you."

"That's not even fair." He switched from the chair to her bed, one hand placed on her other side, the other under her chin. "I've been lying awake for hours, hoping you'd be OK. I get no rest for my worry?"

"Not unless it's together."

"You drive a hard bargain, Finn." He leaned in close to press his lips against hers. She received him positively, clinging to his shirt to keep him close. He pulled away when she flinched, afraid he'd hurt her.

"I'm fine," she huffed, though the way she repositioned herself proved otherwise.

"Quit being stubborn. If you act that way, you won't heal quickly." He took the water from her bedside table and handed it to her. She grudgingly took it and drank it greedily. "What have you been doing?"

"Watching you." She looked embarrassed, and stared at her hands fidgeting with her glass to avoid his gaze.

He was silent as he observed her, then he said, "You scared the shit out of me."

She glared at him, silently nagging him for cursing.

"You did. I was frightened I'd lost you. And if that happened I-" He stopped, not sure how to continue. "I couldn't live with myself, if I couldn't protect you-"

"That's not your job, Jim." She made him look into her eyes, her hand pressed against his cheek.

"Even so… I don't know how to function without you. Like I told your father, being with you is like breathing."

They stayed quiet for some time, basking in each other's company. He fiddled with her fingers with one hand, unable to speak. She didn't seem to have a response to what he confessed, which worried him and made him feel a little insecure.

"The most frightening moment for me," she said softly, not looking up from their finger play, "was when we were on Treasure Planet. And when you risked your life to save the crew by solar surfing through explosions and almost got consumed by the planet's molten core. Watching you narrowly miss danger, knowing that any second I could witness death taking you… it broke my heart."

She'd never admit to this before, and he stared at her, surprised. She looked back at him, her expression sweet and sober.

"I know the feeling. Every time a pillar just about hit you in the face, I stopped breathing. That was also when I knew just how much I cared about this human I just met. In a short amount of time, you went from my hero to something more. You meant more to me than I dared to admit at the time. I loved you then, and I love you now. Which is why I go through all this trouble."

As the words hung above them, it was like the air in the room became thick and heavy. Jim crashed into her then, his lips dominating hers. She tilted her head, wrapping her left arm- her good arm, since her right hung over her wound- around his neck to pull him down toward her. He tried something new- he nibbled at her lower lip, begging for her to allow him in. She agreed, opening her mouth and moaning as his tongue collided with hers. He tried his best to be careful and mindful of her, but his brain was turning into liquid as the kiss continued and deepened. She pressed her chest against his, and the thin fabric of her hospital gown left little to the imagination. He hovered over her, pushing her back into her bed and placing his hands on either side of her head. She reluctantly pulled away, air having left her lungs completely, and she was desperately trying to get some back.

"S-sorry," he said breathlessly.

"No! Don't be. It- I mean… I'm happy." She rested her head on his shoulder, turning it against his neck to leave a flutter of butterfly kisses. She giggled when he shuttered, pleased. "Very… very happy."


	33. Chapter 33

Interstellar Academy

33: Call

For the most part, things reverted back to normal. Jim helped Nova get from class to class for a couple weeks until the doctor said it was safe for her to move more freely. This put her back a bit, since all of her classes were physically demanding and she couldn't put forth all the effort she wanted, but she felt confident she could catch up in no time. As for Star Navigator, the authorities tried to contact his creator, but no one seemed to be at the residence. They were persistent in junking him, but Nova and her friends were against it.

They spent three and a half years with Stav. Though he'd made a tragic mistake, he'd been there for them before.

"Bury him," they begged.

The local authorities had to make sure he wouldn't come back to life, so to speak, and wreak more havoc, so they completely tore him apart and placed him in a tight wooden box. A small service was held, and quite a crowd had gathered to pay their respects. There was still no sign of his creator, and they later found out he'd offed himself when he got word of what his creation had done.

Gloom began to consume them, though spirits attempted to stay high as the semester reared its end.

When Nova was given the doctor's OK to really start her classes, she pushed herself over her limit immediately, placing her right back in the hospital. The doctor and her boyfriend chastised her. The second time around, she kept her pace slow but steady, though it was a lot of effort.

"Guys!" Charlotte came up behind Jim and hugged him, squeezing his neck. "Guess what!"

"You're killing my boyfriend?" Nova pried her friend's vice grip from Jim, who looked at her appreciatively.

"Well, yes, but not that! Some of the seniors are having a par-tay. Wanna go?"

"Charlotte…" Helena rolled her eyes, then referred all her attention back to Ruse.

Charlotte made a gagging noise, then stared, hopefully, at her other roommate.

"I have so much homework to catch up on and-" Those large black eyes just about broke her heart. "Ch-Charlotte, I really shouldn't I mean… I- UGH." Nova flipped the book she was studying off her lap and rubbed her face irritably. "FINE! _OK_. You win. You _**win**_!"

"YOU MEAN IT!" Charlotte kissed Nova's cheek, which instantly turned bright red. "Wear something _SCANDALOUS_." She sauntered away before Nova could question that last statement.

"I-I don't even own anything bordering… _that_." Her face was flaming at the thought. She whispered, more to herself, "_What have I gotten into_?"

"It's Charlotte. It's a hit or miss," joked Jim. "Do you want me to come along?"

"Uh…" She forgot how to think, looking into his intense gaze, before she finally said, "N-no. Not unless you want to."

"Hell yeah I'm going." He rolled his eyes, leaning back comfortably. "If you're going to dress in something _scandalous_, I gotta bust the ass of anyone who looks at you."

"Jim, that's mean!"

"I would do it," Ruse said with a shrug. They exchanged bro-fists, causing huffs from their girlfriends.

"How about this: if you go in something mediocre at best, I'll come with you?" Helena promised.

Nova's eyes shone with hope. "Really, Lena? You mean it?"

"Yes. Come on, let's ransack your wardrobe."

The girls picked up their belongings and walked off, leaving the two boys alone.

"Is it weird, finally dating Helena after all these years?" asked Jim, sincerely curious. They hadn't exchanged a lot of words since the death of their third roommate, Ruse's best friend. Jim knew that the guy needed time to heal the way guys do: with some alone time, as well as make-out time with his girlfriend (if that was an applicable option).

"Yes and no. We've been talking about it for quite awhile, but even though it was expected, it still took me by surprise the way the events unfolded." Ruse was quiet, then he smiled at Jim knowingly.

"I know what you're thinking, and no I haven't."

"Dude, for real? How long are you gonna wait?"

"I…" Jim sighed, rubbing his now hot cheek. "I don't want to feel like I'm rushing things or pushing her into a decision she might not be ready for. I mean, I talked it out with her father, so that worry is right under the bridge. It's just a matter of asking her." Jim fingered the small velvet box he always kept in his pocket. Any moment could be _the_ moment, and he wanted to be prepared.

"It's pretty much a given that you're gonna be together for infinity and beyond," Ruse said with a chuckle. "Just get the question out in the open before the rest of us rip our hair out."

Jim just rolled his eyes, standing up to leave. "Helena hasn't hinted at anything, has she?"

"No one has, dude. We're just waitin' on you."

"So am I."

At his dorm, Jim threw his belongings onto his bed and went over to the phone, surprised the little red light indicating a message was blinking. He pressed the button so it would play. He expected a holographic image of his mother, but instead Nova's father appeared on the screen.

"_**Allies. I call upon you for assistance, for the worst has happened."**_

Jim just about broke in two.

Some of the men showed up to the party in the same condition Jim was, though no one seemed to be saying anything.

In fact, the girls looked simply annoyed by the boys' dejected behavior; they hadn't a clue. Nova just appeared worried. She wore a simple white sundress that reached mid-thigh, he wearing a navy button down, unbuttoned, with khaki shorts.

"Jim?" Her eyes searched over him, trying to find some clue of why his mood shifted.

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Quit worrying so much, Nova. I'm fine."

She didn't believe him, he knew that, but she seemed willing to leave him alone about it.

The party commenced after the girls started dancing around like idiots, causing silly comments and whooping from the boys. Nova and Jim stayed on the side, hand-in-hand, content with just being next to each other. She rested her head on his shoulder, digging her feet in the sand.

"I've always wanted to make a sand castle," she said dreamily.

"You've… never made one?" This shocked Jim, to say the least.

"No. I've always been afraid the wet sand would change me."

"Not if you do it right." Jim led her to a secluded spot familiar to them both. The shack that was once a refuge for them had been destroyed, discovered by the campus authorities, but the spot still held so many loving memories. Jim squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the tears brimming his eyes to go back to whence they came.

"Here, let me show you." Jim knelt down and began digging through the sand, finding the wet kind. He pushed this type on top, then started molding. "If you mess with the dry sand first, the wet sand shouldn't affect you."

She followed in his instruction, and squealed when she hadn't changed. "Thanks! Now I'm going to make a million of these!"

They played in the sand for what seemed like hours, making monument after monument, building after building, like they wanted to build a city of their own, just for the two of them. Nova became wore out and dusted the sand off her fingers, laying her head on Jim's lap.

"Nova?"

Sleepily, she smiled up at him. "Hmm?"

Those eyes, the ones that were such a deep green they could stare into your soul, the ones that meant the whole world to him, almost made him spill everything he was holding in.

The message from her father commanded they not say a single word about being drafted, not until it was confirmed. But the men should pack as if they were to be taken away the next day.

"In the hospital…" He cleared his throat. "When we kissed… if we weren't in a hospital, what would you have done?"

Her heart leapt in her chest, and she sat up slowly to look at him. "W-well… a lot…" She moved away, as if ashamed to admit even that.

He leaned in close, a breath away from her lips. "Show me."

Nova was confused at first, until it finally sunk in. "J-Jim, we're in public-"

"So it would have gone that far? If we weren't in a hospital room?"

"W-why are you asking this?" She became defensive.

"Because I've been thinking about it. About us. Like that. And… I wanted to… let you know I was ready… if you were…" He didn't look the least bit embarrassed, but determined and full of love.

Without another word, Nova reached for Jim and pulled him on top of her. She instantly allowed him to dominate her mouth, their tongues fighting one another for the same exact thing. She slowly pushed his shirt off, though he became impatient and just threw it aside. His skin was toned, warm and sweaty; he smelled of sandalwood, and it made her dizzy and euphoric. He reached down and lifted her dress over her head.

"J-Jim?" Her eyes looked pleading, and he stopped to listen to her. "Please, don't… don't hurt me."

"Never."

A/N: This ended up being two parts. This is actually making me cry to write. :/


	34. Chapter 34

_**WARNING: This next chapter has mention of explicit content; reader discretion is advised.**_

Interstellar Academy

34: Shipped

Being enveloped in someone else was an experience Jim had imagined over and over, but never thought it would feel this glorious. He became one with someone who meant the entire universe to him. A history of hurt, sadness, love, longing, friendship- it all molded into this moment and manifested into a feeling he couldn't comprehend. He felt a beautiful dizziness swallow him as he was inside her, feeling every inch of her. She felt so small, fragile, and he knew that his decision to leave, when called, meant protecting this gorgeous creature he was so in love with. His arms held her close, and they clung to each other as if for dear life. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, her moans muffled by his sweaty skin. He hid inside her hair, wanting every scent committed to memory.

They finished together, fireworks dancing behind their lids. They called out to each other, as if the closeness they were feeling just wasn't close enough. She collapsed onto the sand, hands on either side of her head, her eyes half closed in bliss but peeking up at him. He hovered over her, one hand holding one of hers, the other on her hip, and he stared at her body just like this, wanting to remember her this way forever and always, remembering her being completely and openly his.

"Nova… You're so beautiful, I can't even stand it." His voice was rough, hoarse, but when he said her name, he breathed it and it sent thrills through her.

"I love you, Jim. More than anything."

"I love _you_, Nova."

They had dressed but remained lying together for quite some time. Eventually, Nova fell asleep, and Jim carried her back to her dorm. Charlotte answered the door, her eyes full of tears.

"Ruse told you," he said silently, holding Nova even closer to him.

"You haven't told her?"

"I-I can't." Tears that he'd refused to cry spilled out of his eyes. He lay her on her bed and she nestled into her pillow, undisturbed.

"You're leaving tomorrow. It's confirmed, Jim."

"I…" Jim stroked some loose hair from her pale face. She mumbled under his touch, but still never awoke. "I can't do that to her. I can't make her wait, Charlotte. I have to… end it."

Charlotte didn't argue, didn't respond at all, really. She allowed Jim to have his final moments with Nova, walking out of their room, probably to the girls' lounge.

Jim shook Nova awake. She muttered frustratingly, swatting at him.

"Nova, please, wake up."

She sighed at the sound of his voice, turning over to smile at him. "G'mornin'."

"It's not…" He wiped at his face, trying to hide any evidence of crying.

"Jim, what's wrong?" She was more awake now, sitting up to touch him. He shied from her welcoming fingers, which he could tell hurt her. "Why are you…"

"I'm going to do something horrible." He stood up and stepped away. "I'm breaking up with you."

Nova, initially, looked blankly at him as the words processed. Then, as the words sunk in, crystal tears spilled from her eyes. "What? But… you just said you'd…"

"I'm a bad person, Nova. You don't want to get involved with me."

"B-but, I don't understand, did I do something wrong?"

She would probably more convinced of his statement if he said just that. "Yes. You did something horribly wrong. Which is why I'm doing something horrible in return."

"What did I do!" She exclaimed, trying to stand up. Her legs were so shaky, she ended up collapsing. She reached out for him, but he made no move to help her. "I don't understand! Won't you give me a chance to fix it!"

"No, it's too late. You can't mend this, I'm sorry."

She reached out to him, but he swatted her hand away. This act wounded her the most, and she sat back on her bed, simply staring at him with round green eyes. "OK. If that's what you want."

"It's what's best."

He turned and walked away without another word. When he was outside, he found the nearest bench and buried his face, releasing all the anguish he refused to show her, all the pain. He just had the most memorably beautiful moment of his entire life, and he ruined in it not even hours later.

Jim walked into his dorm, his eyes hazy, elsewhere. Ruse looked just as dazed as him, and didn't say a single word to him until he'd settled onto his bed, a pillow over his face.

"You didn't tell her."

Jim said nothing, not even a mumble.

"I don't blame you. When I told Helena…" He sighed. "Everything good just gets ripped from your hands, it's fucked up."

Jim lowered the pillow from his face, revealing his tear-jerked eyes.

"Yo, dude, what's up?" Ruse could tell something was tormenting his friend.

"Me and Nova… We… We made love. For the first time. And it was the best thing in the whole world. But then… then the reality of everything hit, and after I took her home, I broke up with her, man. I just… ended it."

Ruse tossed a solid object- a trophy- at Jim's bed, narrowly missing the boy. Jim sat up, surprised.

"You _**WHAT**_?"

"I know! I screwed up, big time. But I hated the idea of her waiting for however long. And this way, she won't feel any need to wait for me. Because I would tear my heart out before I put her through that."

"_**BUT DUDE**_!" Ruse tossed Jim onto the ground. Emotionally distraught, Jim fought back, but he was too exhausted to do much harm. Ruse pinned his friend down, his three fingers on each hand stronger than Jim anticipated. "That's not a choice that's up to you! That's up to her!"

Jim's eyes overflowed with tears, and he looked up at Ruse desperately. "I know. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't live with it. I'm a selfish bastard, I know. I love her _**so much**_, the thought of her waiting day in and day out- and if something happened…"

"That's what it was… not if she waited, but if you… died out there." Ruse pushed himself off Jim and helped the boy to his feet. Jim rested his head on his roommate's shoulder, torn inside and out and unable to keep himself from falling to his knees. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

They didn't say much else, but fell asleep in their own beds, though it took some time.

Nova awoke with her head pounding and tiny crystals littering her pillow. All the memories of last night flooded back to her, and she held her head as if to keep it pieced together. She grudgingly made a move to the bathroom, fixing herself to the best of her ability, settling on a simple ponytail and teeth brushing before heading downstairs. Charlotte was already out of bed and dressed in her cadet uniform.

"Is something happening today?" Nova cocked her head to the side.

Charlotte at first looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. Then she sighed, reaching out to hug her. Nova didn't say anything, but hugged back. Stepping away to look at her friend, she asked again what was wrong.

"Nova… Jim lied."

The name that tore her heart in two took the breath out of her. "O-oh?" Nova wondered if Charlotte had listened in on their conversation.

"Today, some of the men are being drafted. Your father asked of it. They weren't supposed to say anything until it was confirmed. It was confirmed last night."

"B-but…" A new batch of tears welled in her eyes. "Why wouldn't he tell me that! I'm his best friend, he tells me everything!"

"He didn't want you to wait for him. He thought that if you thought less of him and were hurt by him, you wouldn't be sad about finding out about him leaving."

"No!" Nova threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, not caring that the rest of her class will be looking business like for this sorrowful event. She shoved her tiny feet into her black boots and ran out the door, Charlotte close at her feet. "I can't let him leave, I can't let him think that I won't miss him, even if- if we are broken up!"

At the dock, people gathered around to hug and kiss their loved ones good-bye, holding them one last time. Jim was near Ruse, keeping his back turned as the alien and his girlfriend shared one last, passionate kiss.

"Jim!" Nova called over the crowd, jumping over them so he could see her wave. He didn't seem to hear her, so she made a path for herself, shoving people rudely out of her way. Charlotte assisted her friend, grabbing her wrist and leading the way. When they were close to the front, both girls called out to the human boy. "_**JIM**_!"

The boy turned, and he instantly became incapable of breathing. He stared in awe at this girl, dressed so casual, hair a mess, with wild eyes and heaving shoulders as she tried to gulp air she'd lost.

"_**You lying son of a bitch**_!" she screamed at him, shocking the entire crowd. "How dare you lie to me! How dare you make me believe that you didn't care about me anymore."

One of the faculty came to hold her back, but Charlotte interjected, stepping between him and her friend. "Let her speak. Trust me."

She stepped around everyone to stand directly in front of her long time friend. "It isn't up to _you_ whether I wait for your return, it's up to _me_. You should have given me that choice." She grew weak then, being so close to him. Last night came crashing around her, and she thought she would faint.

"Nova…" His eyes looked pained, and he obviously had nothing to say.

"Even if you break up with me, you don't think I would have waited until you'd come back, once I found out the truth? That would give me time to fix everything, make it better. So when you came back, you'd be happy to be home, with me…"

"I-I'm sorry…"He dropped his knapsack and wrapped his arms around her, expecting rejection. Instead she embraced him right back, burying her face in his chest. "I just… I couldn't stand the idea of you waiting. You don't deserve that-"

She pulled away to look him in the eye. "But that's not up to you, Jim. That's up to me. And I say, because I love you, I'm going to wait. Wait days, weeks, months, years even. However long until I see you again." She paused, her eyes searching on his face for something they couldn't seem to find. "I love you. You need to trust in that."

"I do. I love _you_, Nova." He bent down and swept her in a kiss that literally took her breath away. The crowd applauded them, but they didn't notice. They were one hundred percent consumed with each other.

A whistling was heard from above, and they broke apart to see where it could be coming from. Something fired just above the ship and hit a mast, causing the large pillar to topple over onto the dock. Jim grabbed hold of Nova and moved her out of the way. Charlotte, Ruse and Helena followed right behind.

"What's going on!" Charlotte screamed, her hands fruitlessly covering her head.

"W-wait!" Nova ripped her hand from Jim's. "Daddy!"

"Right behind you, Supernova!" Her father's hands shone bright gold and were blasting mercilessly at their pursuers. "It looks like they brought the war right to us!"

A/N: Believe it or not, this series is about over.


	35. Chapter 35

Interstellar Academy

35: War

Jim went with his fellow seniors to one of the storage units holding the school's weapons. Kept under high security, the shed held guns of all sorts. Taking two, Jim placed them firmly at the lining of his pants, going right back to Nova and her father.

"Why are they here, daddy!" she screamed, as if this attack was her father's fault.

"I wish I knew, Supernova, but I haven't the slightest idea! We had a place in which we'd meet for battle, but it looks like our enemies don't know how to keep their word." Her father looked around at the students flocking the shed. "Why are the younger ones grabbing weapons?"

"Because this is their school, it's what we do."

Phoenix nodded and faced Jim. "You protect her, do you understand? Don't allow her out of your sight."

Jim reached for Nova's hand and squeezed. "Never."

"I'm going back to check on my crew. Stay together." Her father turned and rushed off, still aiming at the fleet flying just above the school.

"I have to do something." He led her away from the chaos and toward the maze, hiding just inside of it.

"Jim! We have to help my father, he's old, he can't-"

"Just one minute, Nova, is all I need." Jim brushed his clothing and retied his hair, confusing the girl but she didn't question him further. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, baby blue velvet box.

"J-Jim?" Nova tried not to make any assumptions, but failed.

Jim took Nova's left hand and caressed her ring finger, then looked up at her seriously. "This is something I meant to do awhile ago, but… felt it wasn't the right time."

"And now _is_?" An explosion sounded around them, but they ignored it.

"Better now than never." He opened the box with his free hand and took out the ring. It shone a bright blue against the rising sun. His eyes stared up at her with so much love and dedication, she felt anything he said from this point on she'd never doubt. "I have messed up, made you cry, made you laugh, made you smile, probably made you feel every emotion out there. I'm not perfect, Nova, but I'll keep trying. For you. For _us_. So, I have to ask… if you will have me, flaws and all? Will you marry me?"

The world stopped as his words floated into the air and around her head. She nodded frantically, at first unable to speak. "Y-yes. Of course I will."

He slipped the ring onto the proper finger and kissed it, standing up to brush his lips against hers. "Now let's go fight a war."

They joined their classmates in the courtyard, the students standing at attention, silently. Nova took her place before the girls, Jim leading the boys.

"Today," boomed the dean, wearing a militia uniform of his own, "we are going to make history. We may lose some in the process, but know this: your legacy will live on for generations to come. Save this school, save this universe. Save your loved ones. Keep in mind just who you are fighting for. Atten_tion_!"

The students stood straight and tall, weapons tucked away but in easy reach.

"Ready, _march_!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

The students, aligned, marched toward the battlefield. Nova and Jim didn't look at each other, but stared forward. When they reached the designated area, they all halted simultaneously, awaiting further orders.

"On three, ready your weapons and move out!" The Dean stood between Nova and Jim, pulling out his sword. "One… Two… Three… _**ATTACK!**_"

The students charged, Nova going straight for her father. The man seemed to be struggling, though she knew he wouldn't say so. Nova placed her ring in her pocket, knowing her powers would just melt the beautiful jewelry.

"I don't want you fighting in this battle," Phoenix growled as he fought off an attacker.

Nova blasted the man toward the damaged ship, glaring up at her father. "Isn't that too bad, you can't get what you want."

The man smiled down at his daughter. "You've grown up so much."

"I had to, daddy."

They fought side by side, though it was only a matter of time before her father collapsed. Even then, Nova battled off anyone who came near them, taking his arm and hoisting it around her shoulders so they could walk together.

"They won't have you, not while I breathe."

Jim was with Ruse and the other drafted men, firing at people who looked harmless, almost as if they could have been someone's friendly neighbor. He knew people could only take so much, and he couldn't help but wonder who was the bad guy in this situation. He watched as men dressed in the Solara uniform outnumbered the pirate-looking fellows; if that many people were willing to risk their lives for Nova's father, did that make him bad?

"And to think," Ruse said over the crossfire, "three years ago, the worst thing in the world to us was whether or not we'd pass our classes."

The battle waged on for hours, from sun up to sundown, and it became evident who was going to win. A daring enemy scavenged up the opposing ship to a cannon. Jim saw this and followed him, firing at him ruthlessly. Even so, it did no good. The man aimed the cannon at his former leader- who stood right beside Nova.

"Oh no you don't!"

Jim lunged at the man and turned the cannon in a different direction, out toward the open sea. The man growled, fighting back with as much force as he could muster.

"Do you even know who you're fighting for, kid? He's a horrible leader, merciless!"

"He's also my fiancee's father," Jim snarled, kicking the man away from him.

The man looked up with knowing, understanding eyes. People flocked onto the deck, wondering who fired off the cannon. The king was one of them, and he stared between the man and Jim, disbelieving.

"You're ruthless, merciless, and could care less about the people you rule over! You'll pay for all the crimes and sins you've done." The man pulled out a flintlock and made one last attempt to off his former ruler. Jim put himself between the king and the shot, falling instantly to the ground in pain. The man, unsure, jumped off the ship and into the sea, never resurfacing.

"_**JIM**_!" Nova knelt beside him, holding his wound with as much pressure as he allowed. "You _IDIOT_. What were you _thinking_?"

"I wasn't," he said, clenching his teeth at the pain. "Y-you know I don't do that." Breathing became difficult, and he used all his strength to cup her face. "N-Nova, listen. I love you and-"

"Don't you talk like that! Don't talk as if this is it!" She rested her head into his neck, trying with every ounce of strength to control her tears.

"It's hard to breathe…" Paramedics tried to separate them, but they refused. The men decided to just work around Nova. "I'm sorry. For everything."

"Me too," she whispered, gazing into his blue eyes, watching the life dim from them. "J-Jim! Stay awake, come on!"

At this point, the medics forced Nova away. Charlotte and Helena reached down to hold Nova back, and after awhile she knew fighting against them was futile. She watched, uselessly, as they worked to try and save him. But after a few minutes, they stood up and away from the boy's still body.

"_**No!**_" Nova dove down and shook him, as if that were enough to make him move. "Jim, please wake up, please!" The boy didn't answer, expectedly, but she kept trying anyway. Once it was confirmed Jim wasn't coming back, she simply rested her head on his chest and began sobbing. "Jim…" She looked at his peaceful face, his eyes and mouth closed. A single crystal tear dropped onto his cheek, and she went to wipe it away, but it disappeared into her skin. This astonished her and she stared, wondering why it vanished.

Then something extraordinary happened.

Jim took a gulp of air.

"That's impossible," said a paramedic under his breath.

"We pronounced him dead!"

"Jim?" Nova stroked loose brown hair from his face.

He took her hand and stared at it, then glared up at her with fluttering eyes. "Where is it?"

Nova at first simply stared, then registered what he was asking about. She took the ring from her pocket and placed it back on her finger.

"That's better."

At the hospital, Phoenix explained what Nova had done to bring her fiancé back to life.

"Your powers can be deadly, but also healing, it seems. Like mine." The small crowd in the room- Helena, Ruse, Charlotte and Jim and Nova on the hospital bed- stared at him expectedly, waiting his next sentence. "There was a war when I was younger, and I was forced to fight in it. Your mother's father was the enemy, and we had been seeing each other in secret. However, then, we had to fight against each other, for our planet."

"You never told me this," Nova said, holding Jim's hand.

"We didn't want you or your brother to fall into my footsteps. But… well… At any rate, by the end of the battle, my planet was going to dominate. One of our soldiers went to take me out, and your mother took the hit. She died upon impact.

"My heart broke into pieces, seeing her lie so still. It was the first and only tear I'd ever shed. And it brought her back to life, like you did with Jim. Her father ceased all fire, as did mine, and we came to a truce. And now me and your mother have been married for forty-five years."

"Oh, daddy…"

Ruse, Helena and Charlotte left, Nova's father shortly after. The girl turned to her fiancé and smiled.

"Quite the week, huh?"

"More like quite the past two days…" He leaned over to kiss her neck, sending a shiver through her. "Thank you. For bringing me back to life, you know."

"My pleasure."

A/N: I don't want this to end. T.T Like, I'm writing slower and slower because it's almost over.


	36. Chapter 36

Interstellar Academy

36: Fin

A/N: I can't write this… Like, my heart is hurting because this is seriously the end and I can't stand it. To everyone who has supported me throughout the whole series, thank you. It means the world. I knew it had to end sometime. Unfortunately, I have to find something else to fangirl over, and write about to pour out all of my fangirly feels. Without further ado, the end.

The end of the semester held one important time for these particular seniors: graduation. The Dean was so impressed with the formation and nobility held by the upper class during the battle, and thought that there was nothing left to teach them. Everyone in the class seemed ready to move up in the world.

Nova appeared in her cadet uniform, Helena and Charlotte at either side, linking arms. The two aliens had tears running down their faces, disbelieving they finally made it: this was the end of their high school career.

They thought they'd have another half of a year to prepare, not just a few short months. The Dean had notified them as well as family of the event, and everyone had to make hasty preparations, but it was well worth it. As they entered the large auditorium full of people flocking about like proud chickens, they knew this was meant to happen.

Nova took her place in the front of the girls' row of chairs, since her name was going to be one of the first called. She heaved a sigh and looked cattycorner to her, the blue eyes she was searching for smiling right back.

Her father and mother had begun preparations for a wedding the two weren't ready to have quite yet. They wanted to get really settled into a place, start their careers first, make sure they were stable enough to handle a wedding on top of the other stresses of life. At any rate, she felt excited and light headed at the thought. She was going to wear a gorgeous dress, and Jim insisted on wearing the captain's uniform his mother tailored for him. Her mother wanted to meet at a halfway point, but Nova decided to have it here, at the beach. The Dean had agreed to it, happy to oblige for the king of Solara. For Nova and Jim, these grounds held many memories, and with those memories they grew stronger, as individuals as well as a couple. This land was sacred in their hearts, always would be.

Jim and Captain Amelia decided it was high time they work together, and she would introduce him into the military business. Nova, honestly, wasn't comfortable with him joining the military, but knew this was his dream: to captain a whole fleet of ships. He would have to work his way up, but his intelligence and skill would get him there quicker than most.

Nova opted to be the ambassador for Solara, instead of queen, to her brother's delight. She would first travel to the ruling planets her parents dominated and speak with them, improve them, on behalf of her father. After much convincing, the king realized his rule was, in fact, indecent and simply not working any longer. Nova was glad that her father finally listened to her and seemed to be making more sense and caring for his people. Afterward, she would work with Jim on his missions and speak to other planets about Solara. After the battle- no one could call it a war anymore, it was so small- they needed to build themselves up all over again.

Helena received a job at a university designing maps. She would spend her life traveling and creating beautiful maps, Ruse providing the technical support to make those maps manifest. Nova was glad the two's relationship had blossomed so quickly, when it seemed the two would never get together in the first place.

As for Charlotte, she wanted to stay on campus and teach as well as coach the swim team. She loved working with her fellow students, and felt this career choice was the best one for her. The others couldn't agree more. She was happy when mentoring, and wanted to continue this path. Rayn had gotten her into a student teacher's program, and Nova could tell it was the beginning of yet another beautiful relationship.

"If I can have everyone's attention," said the Dean into the microphone, and everyone instantly shushed. "I'm very proud to introduce the graduating class gathered behind me. They have proven themselves under the deepest pressure and rose above all of our expectations." He cleared his throat, as if he was trying to contain tears. "I have grown to… love the people behind me. They are valiant, true, brave, intelligent individuals with bright futures. I have no doubt they will make it far, and bring our universes together as a whole." The Dean turned to Nova and nodded.

Nervously, the girl stood up and took her place at the podium, as valedictorian. She smoothed her skirt out, then began. "Parents, friends, family members… class mates, we are here today, thinking that today will be the most memorable moment of our lives." She paused, allowing the words to sink in. She could tell they were confused. She swallowed back tears and continued. "But it's not. I know for a fact that some of us will be forgotten over time, and those we haven't forgotten, we simply… won't see much of. To me, the most memorable moment is entering this school. When my foot first stepped onto campus, all I could think to myself was, 'I better not throw up, please don't vomit.'" This caused a raucous of laughter.

"And the memories between then and now will stick to me forever, as it will for the rest of my class mates. There were hardships and heartbreak, but in those times we also had classmates that turned into something more- we became a family. We loved each other, sympathized with our neighbor's pain.

"And our blessed faculty, who never gave up on us, even when we were ready to give up on ourselves. They stood by us, taught us all we needed to know and went beyond that, because they knew we wouldn't know to look further than beyond the book. We were pushed over the edge and down a canyon, and taught to climb right back up. And for that, we can't thank you enough." Nova paused to smile sweetly at her dean and Rayn, who returned it heartedly.

"It's these moments that will live with me, not today. I don't think I'd be wrong to say the same for my classmates." A small holler sounded behind her, and soon the entire auditorium was cheering. They hushed just as quickly as they started. "We were prepared for the hard times, but we weren't prepared for how they'd imprint on our hearts. But I'm glad it happened. We all are." She bowed and went back to her seat, wiping the edge of her eye.

"Now I will begin calling forth our graduates alphabetically. If you will refrain from applause until I've reached the end of my list, please."

And so they were called, one by one, to receive their diplomas. When they were finished, the Dean held a surprise, awarding lower class students who fought in not only the battle for Solara, but also those who dealt with other school disasters. After the list was finished, everyone stood and cheered, the graduates throwing their hats into the air.

Nova met with her family after the ceremony, hugging them tightly.

"Oh, my Supernova. We are so proud of you," said her mother, trying her best to hold back sobs.

Her brother, dressed in his Solara Captain uniform, black hair tousled and brown eyes shining, kissed his twin on the cheek. "You did good, squirt."

Nova playfully punched her brother then turned to her father, who wiped at his eye, shedding his second tear.

"Oh, daddy!" She reached up for a hug, and he took his small daughter into his large, lean arms, picking her up and holding her tight.

"There isn't anything I could have asked for more, than to have you in my life, my daughter," he said through sobs. "I love you, my dearest."

Jim met up with his mother when they were dismissed and couldn't stop hugging her, both sobbing uncontrollably.

"You have grown up so much," Sarah hiccupped, pulling back to look at her son. "I look at your old pictures, and can't help but wonder if this is how I expected it. And it's not, Jim, it truly isn't. But I'm glad you exceeded my expectations because you made me the proudest mother in the entire universe."

Jim held his mother's face, realizing that now he was looking down at her. "I told you, mom: I'd make you proud."

People left shortly thereafter, classmates meeting with their friends and hugging them for the last time- until the reunion.

Nova held onto Charlotte and Helena's hands, her lip quivering. Ruse and Jim stood behind their girlfriends, Rayn beside Charlotte.

"I can't believe this is good-bye," Charlotte choked, looking at her friends.

"It's not forever, Charlie," Nova said, barely squeezing the old nickname through her tight throat. "We'll still see each other."

"Fucking right we will," Helena croaked through her tears. "How long until your wedding?"

Nova smiled back at her fiancé, who kissed her forehead and answered, "Not sure. But it shouldn't be long now. Certainly not ten years."

"If he makes you wait ten years," Ruse said, "we're gonna kill him. Just letting you know."

They laughed quietly before falling completely silent.

"Well, we better get going," Charlotte whispered, letting go of her friends' hands and stepping back.

Nova took hold of Jim's and turned away, waving sadly. They barely made it a yard before someone hugged her from behind, making it impossible to walk.

"D-dammit," Nova cursed, turning around to hug not one but two people- not her roommates, not her friends, but her _sisters_. They fell to their knees, sobbing, unable to do much else. It was awhile before they calmed down, and only then could Nova walk away.

Nova rested her head on Jim's shoulder, squeezing his hand, while they rode Delbert's small ship back to Montressor; her parents agreed to a holiday with the Hawkins' family, curious of the way they celebrate the frigid winter months.

"Would you ever go back and change anything?" asked Nova sleepily.

"No," Jim said softly, nestling his nose into her hair and kissing the top of her head. "I wouldn't dare. All of this, like you said, made us stronger."

_**3 years later…**_

Aurora fidgeted with Nova's veil for the hundredth time, annoying the young woman.

"Mom, it's perfect. It's been perfect since the first time you fixed it."

"I know sweetheart, I just… I want today to be perfect. In every sense of the word."

"I'm marrying the man of my dreams in front of my beautiful family and friends. There's nothing else that I want. Though the extravagant wedding decorations are a definite plus, I won't lie."

Her mother smiled down at her daughter, her eyes glowing. "I am still trying to see it: Supernova Hawkins."

"_**Mrs**_. Supernova Hawkins, to you." Nova winked at her mother playfully. "But I know what you mean. You know that no matter what, I'll always be your little girl."

"Do you have any doubts?" she asked, her graceful, queenly head tilted in curiosity.

"No. He's the one I want and need. I always have, and I always will. I love him with everything I have, mommy." Nova bit her lip and looked down, trying to contain her crying; her mother would kill her if she messed up her make up.

"I know, sweetheart."

Jim adjusted his captain's uniform, tailored by his mother, staring in the mirror. His hair had grown since graduation, though he'd trimmed it for his wedding and wore it in a thick braid that stopped between his shoulder blades. He raked a hand over his bangs, hoping they'd stay behind his ears; if his mother couldn't get his face in a picture due to his hair, she swore she'd shave it all off.

"Well, you did it, man. It's all finally happenin'." Ruse wore a deep blue tuxedo; the bridesmaids wore elegant, simple green dresses. He popped the collar and looked jokingly at his friend. "About damn time."

"Tell me about it," said Rayn as he tried- and failed- to maneuver his tie.

Jim laughed and helped the guy out. "You gotta get that down before your wedding, White."

"Oh, don't talk about this, I can't hear you!" Ruse marched away with his hands to his ears, and the two men simply laughed at him.

"How are you feeling?" asked Rayn, seriously.

"Nervous. Happy. Confused as to why she settled with me."

Rayn elbowed Jim. "She didn't settle. She stayed with the one she loved. Don't question it, man, just roll with it."

"Great advice, thanks." Jim rolled his eyes and smirked at the blond.

"Or you could just fall flat on your face on your way up to the altar, that's always an option."

A few minutes later, the wedding march began, a long time classic that was Nova's favorite: Canon in D minor. Jim and his mother walked arm and arm, the woman holding a tissue to her eyes the entire way. He kissed her cheek when they reached the altar. "Thank you, mom."

The flower girl and the ring bearer, children of two regulars, came rushing down the aisle, making everyone laugh. Bridesmaids and best men marched, linked, down the aisle after them, then finally entered Nova.

She wore a sleeveless white dress, floral bodice and a flowing skirt that had a slit starting at her knee. She smiled up at her father, also wearing white, who seemed to forget for a moment they were walking down a beach lined with a blue velvet carpet.

At that moment, he saw a little girl in a sundress and bonnet, a smile with one missing tooth and eyes with a million and one dreams.

Nova looked down the aisle at her groom and her heart exploded. His uniform was a stark white, red collar lined with gold and a captain's pin right above his heart. He looked beautiful, and in her eyes he was the most perfect being in the universe.

Her father, most willfully, handed Nova off to Jim and they stood hand in hand, gazing only into each other's eyes.

And it was like they were taken back in time, back when they first met, and they saw each other for the first time thinking, _This is it, this is the one._

A/N: I AM CRYING RIGHT NOW OK. I can't believe it's over. I haven't felt so attached to something in my life. Thanks to everyone who was involved in this. Thanks to my readers, thanks to my reviewers Xiaolin and Trekkie, thanks to the one who favorited, thanks for everything.


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